The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker.
From Queen to slave, The Silence of the Girls tells the lesser-known story of Queen Briseis, a woman who is forced to serve the Greek army and be the bed-slave of a man who killed her husband and brothers. That man? Achilles.
When her Kingdom falls at the hands of the Greek army, Queen Briseis of Lyrnessus becomes Achilles’ war prize and is taken to the Greek army camps at the centre of the Trojan War. Here, she is forced to clean, cook and pour wine to the soldiers and at night, is raped by Achilles. Barker’s writing holds no punches as she describes Briseis’ trauma and I think this is really important. To shy away from it would yet again silence the women.
In this feminist retelling of Homer’s The Iliad, Pat Barker gives a voice back to the women who have been silenced by history, women who were forced to serve, who were raped and beaten, women whose families were murdered by the very same men who enslaved them. If you’re looking for a Disney-style happy ending for these women, one where they escape their captors and live free, you’ve come to the wrong place. Instead, Barker manages to tell the story of the women’s everyday triumphs, everyday successes and everyday strength as slaves within the Greek army camps.
Told entirely through the eyes of Briseis, this was an utterly unique point of view surrounding Achilles, the Greeks, the Trojans and the Trojan War. The Silence of the Girls was a brutal book but that was the reality of the lives of these women and of most women during wars. But, it was beautiful too, and that beauty came from the strength and survival of these women and their voices finally being heard.
What I really enjoyed reading was how complex each of the women were and how utterly different; some found strength in defiance, some found strength in humour and some found strength in acceptance. Sure, these women weren’t the great warriors who history knows well, but really, these women were stronger — and far more interesting — than the men whose stories have been told for centuries. They deserve a damn ballad.
I am in love with feminist retellings, they are one of my favourite genres and The Silence of the Girls definitely comes in as one of my top 3.
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