Struggling to continue with Women of Troy by Pat Barker

Submitted by Fast_Chocolate_8288 t3_zoiho9 in books

For a book that has such glittering reviews, I'm finding it a shockingly bad read, so much so that I had to write this post. It's full of clunky nonsensical similes and equally stupid dialogue. Barker is either incapable or lazy, often telling you how to interpret descriptions or events instead of conveying meaning through the writing. Supposedly meaningful events feel hollow. Moreover, it's convoluted and often feels a bit disjointed. Seriously one of the worst books I've ever read, even more disappointing for the extremely positive critical reception.

I can only imagine the reviews are good because there's an appetite for feminist literature and all its horrendous flaws were overlooked in order to support the sisterhood. As a piece of feminist literature it ranks very low in my opinion indeed, its so on the nose and sometimes feels like a tedious list of women and their respective stories of abuse. Because of all of the above it lacks any immersive quality, character relatability, and therefore any communicative power at all, I just have nothing but contempt for this book.

That's my opinion anyway. Rant over. I'm keen to hear how other people felt about it.

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sunandsand67 t1_j0n4fgb wrote

Couldn't read her WW1 books either

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Klaeni t1_j0n850u wrote

If you’re struggling, just stop.

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Klaeni t1_j0n8x97 wrote

Replying to Fast_Chocolate_8288 (#957,463)

No, haven’t read it but have found out over many years of reading that it’s not worth reading books that you have to force yourself to read. There are so many more out there.

I used to feel like you: started it, gotta finish it (that’s my German grandmother talking). Finally overcame that obstacle!

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nameisntfranco t1_j0npske wrote

After reading Circe by Madeline Miller I really got the craving for more so I tried The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker and was really disappointed. I think partly I misunderstood the synopsis because I thought there would be more about Helen in the book which there wasn’t. But also the writing just was not my style. If your looking for a good feminist Greek retelling I suggest Circe, The Song of Achilles was also amazing.

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w3hwalt t1_j0nzjh3 wrote

Her prose style isn't for everyone. It's very direct. If you don't like it, drop it; it's not going to change.

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DNibbles t1_j0o24yv wrote

I didn't care for this one either. I don't think I finished it

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Jack-Campin t1_j0p5lb4 wrote

Try Christa Wolf's Cassandra instead. I can't imagine why Barker tried to compete with that.

BTW Euripides (the original of this focus on the story) wasn't exactly subtle either. It didn't matter.

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MundanePop5791 t1_j0pvap2 wrote

Read circe instead. Silence of the girls is very disappointing

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Public_Tower_4317 t1_j0ti864 wrote

A thousand ships by Natalie Haynes is excellent! A great retelling of the women of Troy.

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tofu-weenie t1_j0uh1yi wrote

I had a very similar experience with 'The Silence of the Girls' which I had every reason to believe I'd enjoy, but which fell completely flat for me. For a book which sold itself as a feminist retelling, all the female characters seemed very one-dimensional. I felt like I was expected to relate to them by default but wasn't given any actual reason to. There was no interesting perspective on the female experience - all the female characters' stories were told through their relationships to the main male characters. As you said, it read like a list of various types of abuse.

I thought that the female characters in Song of Achilles were infinitely more interesting and better written, despite the story not explicitly focusing on them.

It's validating to hear you feel the same, as so many people have recommended Pat Barker to me. I wonder if perhaps they haven't actually read the books themselves, and are just aware of the associated buzzwords.

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Bridalhat t1_j0v39ph wrote

Replying to tofu-weenie (#970,838)

Hot take: it’s not “feminist” to make a bunch of male characters the worst possible versions of themselves. I wasn’t overly fond of TSOA either, but making the characters misunderstood goody two shoes with modern morals is no worse than “they are all monsters.”

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tofu-weenie t1_j0vcdu1 wrote

Replying to Bridalhat (#972,441)

I think I mostly agree with that.

I like it when characters feel so real that I imagine them having a life and motivations off the page - good or bad or whatever the author needs to tell a good story. I didn't get that at all with The Silence Of The Girls.

It left like a story in which the women were victims without also being people.

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Ravenwolf10034 t1_j16xg3v wrote

I agree. A thousand ships by Natalie Haynes is so much better!

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