28 October 2007

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

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Canongate has launched a series of myths interpreted by contemporary authors. While Jeanette Winterson's "Weight", a story about Atlas, is still in my shelf simply because it seems to be quite fantastic, I got Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad" just before we went to Japan. I've never read anything by her before, but it seems everyone in my internet reading communities have, which has made me kinda curious. And yeah, Atwood's Penelope tells her own story about the marriage to Odysseus and the long wait for his return, about their troublesome son Telemachus who tries to get rid of the suitors who want a piece of the kingdom, and how her twelve favourite maids are slaughtered by Odysseus upon his return. It is, of course, a fascinating story. However, it becomes a bit boring sometimes, as Penelope tells the story in some sort of modern time but from the dead. I'd much rather been without this spicing-up-the-story-with-funny-details thingy. Then again, maybe it's just that I'm too dead serious when it comes to the greek myth stuff.

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