The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
In Homer's account in The Odyssey, Penelope - wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy - is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan war after the abduction of Helen, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumours, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay, simultaneously. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monsters and sleeping with goddesses, he kills her suitors and - curiously - twelve of her maids. In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged Maids, asking: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? In Atwood's dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing. With wit and verve, drawing on the storytelling and poetic talent for which she herself is renowned, she gives Penelope new life and reality - and sets out to provide an answer to an ancient mystery.
Half-Dorothy Parker, half-Desperate Housewives* * Independent * *
As potent as a curse. -- Lucy Hughes Hallett * * Sunday Times * *
Atwood takes Penelope's part with tremendous verve...she explores the very nature of mythic story-telling. -- Mary Beard * * Guardian * *
Atwood's typical wit and vim on fine display: with the late maids providing a Greek chorus, Penelope swoops across the centuries to pithily slate her cousin Helen of Troy, judge Odysseus and even provide a feminist viewpoint of which Homer could nary have dreamt. * * Observer * *
Pragmatic, clever, domestic, mournful, Penelope is a perfect Atwood heroine. -- Sam Leith * * Spectator * *
As potent as a curse. -- Lucy Hughes Hallett * * Sunday Times * *
Atwood takes Penelope's part with tremendous verve...she explores the very nature of mythic story-telling. -- Mary Beard * * Guardian * *
Atwood's typical wit and vim on fine display: with the late maids providing a Greek chorus, Penelope swoops across the centuries to pithily slate her cousin Helen of Troy, judge Odysseus and even provide a feminist viewpoint of which Homer could nary have dreamt. * * Observer * *
Pragmatic, clever, domestic, mournful, Penelope is a perfect Atwood heroine. -- Sam Leith * * Spectator * *
Nominated for the inaugural 2005 Man Booker Prize International Prize, Margaret Atwood is the author of more than forty internationally acclaimed works of fiction, poetry and critical essays. Her numerous awards include the Governor General's Award for The Handmaid's Tale, and the Giller Prize and Italian Il Premio Litterario Internazionale Mondello for Alias Grace. The Handmaid's Tale, Cat's Eye, Alias Grace and Oryx and Crake were all shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, which she won with The Blind Assassin. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, has been awarded the Norwegian Order of Literary Merit and the French Chevalier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and is a Foreign Honorary Member for Literature of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She lives in Toronto.
@MargaretAtwood
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781841957043 |
| ISBN 10 | 1841957046 |
| Title | The Penelopiad |
| Author | Margaret Atwood |
| Series | Myths |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Canongate Books |
| Year published | 2006-05-04 |
| Number of pages | 224 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |