Thank you to TheWriteReads and NeemTreePress for the eARC and a spot on this amazing blogtour in exchange for an honest review!
4 Stars!!
Blurb
Queen Clytemnestra’s world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself.
Tormented by her loss, she vows to do all she can to protect the children born from her unhappy marriage to Agamemnon. But when her husband casts his ruthless gaze towards the wealthy citadel of Troy, his ambitions threaten, once more, to destroy the family Clytemnestra loves.
From one of Greek mythology’s most reviled characters—a woman who challenged the absolute power of men—comes this fiery tale of power, family rivalry and a mother’s burning love.
–Featuring a strong female protagonist, this is a powerful retelling of a
reviled figure in Greek Mythology seen through a feminist lens
– Places motherhood at the heart of the story, allowing Clytemnestra’s voice
to be heard in a new way
– Clytemnestra’s Bind explores society’s obligation to conform to
stereotypical gender expectations and shows the explosive powerplay
between men and women in a patriarchal society
Review:
Clytemnestra’s Bind by Susan C Wilson is heart-breaking and emotional look at motherhood, power, pain and loss.
I adore re-tellings, especially Greek mythology re-tellings, and this one was no exception. While this is not necessarily a new thing, this was a refreshing and emotional take on the story of Clytemnestra.
I know the story of Iphigenia, Electra, and Orestes, but Clytemnestra was never at the core of the story. This book places her at the centre of the story, at the core of the Atreus story and it is a fantastic and heartfelt perspective that is intriguing and absorbing.
Clytemnestra’s Bind focuses in on a younger Clytemnestra but what was most intriguing was the focus on Clytemnestra raising her children. We see heroes and tragedies in fantasy and mythology all the time, but often we do not see where this story begins from the perspectives of others, especially their mothers and the women around them.
This whole story revolves around Clytemnestra’s motherhood, her bond with her children and her desire to protect them.
The House of Atreus is steeped in blood, its history is one of violence and tragedy, and Clytemnestra is stuck in the middle of this house. Clytemnestra experiences this first hand, her whole life is ripped away from her and she is thrown into Agamemnon’s life as a grieving widow and mother.
It isn’t long before Clytemnestra becomes a mother to Agamemnon’s children: Iphigenia, Electra, and Orestes. Now she will do anything to protect them, she endures Atreus house of tragedy, becomes the wife expected of her, all for her children.
It is truly emotional and harrowing watching Clytemnestra do whatever she can to protect her children from the tragedy steeped house, from Agamemnon himself. Clytemnestra’s love for her children can be felt right to your core. Particularly, her relationship with Iphigenia, the daughter raised to fit the feminine standards of a patriarchal society to help her survive. This particular bond held the most heartache for me after Clytemnestra’s past – it had me completely captured.
Clytemnestra’s relationship with Electra is different. While she still wants to protect her, Electra is all for her father. She wants to prove her worth but in doing so she is nothing like the women a patriarchal society expects and this does nothing but make her a disappointment in Agamemnon’s eyes. This particular relationship is painful and emotional in a completely different way to Iphigenia. Clytemnestra tries her best to raise Electra in the way she thinks will protect her but Electra cares little for it and their relationship is strained. It is emotional because her mother wants to protect her but Electra sees her mother as nothing but oppressive and her father as nothing but a hero. Clytemnestra knowing the truth of Agamemnon’s character makes it all the more heart-breaking for this strained relationship to exist. Finally, we have Orestes the first and much needed son. Again we get a completely new relationship. Being a son, Clytemnestra wants to protect him from the violence house Atreus mould its men into. But it is easier said than done. It is written in a sensitive and emotional way that makes you ache for Clytemnestra.
Now I know how Clytemnestra’s story ends, as do many of us, and this makes the story all that more emotional and heart-breaking. Every second of love and protection she puts into her children breaks my heart.
We also get Clytemnestra living her life solely as a mother to protect her children denying herself any potential happiness with another character. Her desire to protect her children feels, at times, extreme, crossing into oppressiveness, and yet knowing the House of Atreus it makes it all the more harrowing. Clytemnestra does everything to protect her children, denying herself everything just for the safety of her children and yet it all feels for naught by the end and that is what truly gets you.
There is so much more I could say about this book, Clytemnestra is a mother, a woman, in a patriarchal society, trying her best to fit the role expected of her for her children, even at the detriment to herself and yet all she ever experiences is pain and loss. This was a truly sensitive, powerful, and emotional read that makes you feel all that Clytemnestra does and more.
A truly gorgeous and heart-breaking story that is well worth the read.
Book Details:
SERIES
The House of Atreus: no. 1
HARDBACK
978-1-911107-59-0
300 pages
202 × 132 mm
15 June 2023
£14.99 / $20.99 / €17.99
PAPERBACK
978-1-911107-60-6
300 pages
198 × 129 mm
15 June 2023
£9.99 / $13.99 / €11.99
EBOOK
978-1-911107-61-3
300 pages
ePub
15 June 2023
£8.99 / $12.99 / €10.99
Genre:
FB: Fiction: general and
literary
1DXG: Greece
1QBAG: Ancient Greece
FIC014010: FICTION /
Historical / Ancient
Links
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clytemnestras-House-Atreus-Susan-Wilson/dp/1911107607/ref=sr_1_1?crid=PJ128NR98XWW&keywords=clytemnestra%27s+bind&qid=1702044085&sprefix=clytemnestra%27s+bind%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86942438-clytemnestra-s-bind?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=RzKRbqVdmG&rank=1
- Author Website: https://www.susancwilson.co.uk/
- Author Twitter: @BronzeAgeWummin
- Author Instagram: susancwilsonauthor
Author Bio
Susan C Wilson is a working-class Scottish writer. Her lifelong passion for ancient Greece was ignited as a child by stumbling across stories of gods and heroes in the dictionary. She loves to explore what makes us human: the eternal motivations, desires and instincts that cross time and place.
She has a degree in journalism from Napier University and, in preparation for writing her novels, gained a diploma in classical studies from the Open University. Clytemnestra’s Bind, her debut novel, was long-listed for the Mslexia Novel Competition 2019. It is the first in The House of Atreus trilogy and will be published by Neem Tree Press in June 2023.
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