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The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus by Margaret Atwood

The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus Margaret Atwood ebook
ISBN: 1841957178, 9781841957173
Format: epub
Page: 224
Publisher: Canongate U.S.

It was published in 2005 as part of the first set of books in the Canongate Myth Series where contemporary authors rewrite ancient myths. After the games Depending on which myth you read, Helen was either stolen or gifted to Paris by Aphrodite, but Atwood goes with Occam's razor: that Helen ran off with prettyboy Paris. These maids have haunted Atwood, and in The Penelopiad, Penelope gives us their story, uncoiling the truth behind their brief and dismissive appearance in The Odyssey. And it's been a long time since I've read any Atwood, so I had no idea what might happen as I started reading. While the story is touted as a retelling of The Odyssey from Penelope's point of view, I find it to be so After all, The Odyssey follows Odysseus who is nowhere near Penelope (geographically speaking), so The Penelopiad adds to the story rather than retells it. The Penelopiad is a novella by Margaret Atwood. A Bit of a Ramble The Penelopiad is the first of the Canongate Myths, a series of myths, fables, and folktales rewritten with a spin by contemporary authors. In 2005, the British publishing house of Canongate began producing a series of short novels based on myths from Western and non-Western civilizations. So when I picked up The Penelopiad, I wasn't sure what to expect. Is this century becoming boring to writers? Besides Augustus and The Golden Mean, I've come across these: Ransom (about Achilles) – David Malouf The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus – Margaret Atwood. Ever since I heard about the Read-A-Myth Challenge, so kindly hosted by JoV and Bina, I have been looking forward to reading Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad. Penelope reminds us that Odysseus competed for Helen's (her cousin) hand but lost to Menelaus. Written in 2005 as part of the Canongate Myth series, The Penelopiad is often part, as I see it, is the view of feminism Atwood leaves us with in The Penelopiad. One of the stranger parts of Odyssey is Odysseus and Telemachus' slaughtering of Penelope's maids once they regain control of his kingdom. With The Penelopiad, Atwood does the same in reverse: in dealing with the myth of Odysseus and the fantastic world he, Penelope and the maids inhabit, she makes it seem all very plausible and human. Penelope – Odysseus' wife – is dead.