Ithaca: The Songs of Penelope
Autor Claire Northen Limba Engleză Paperback – 8 sep 2022
Găsim în Ithaca o construcție narativă surprinzătoare, unde vocea care ghidează cititorul nu aparține protagonistei pământene, ci zeiței Hera. Această perspectivă divină, detașată și uneori tăioasă, ne permite să observăm Itaca nu ca pe un regat glorios, ci ca pe o insulă a femeilor rămase în urmă, care trebuie să navigheze printre intrigi politice și amenințări constante fără protecția bărbaților plecați de șaptesprezece ani. Apreciem modul în care Claire North refuză să transforme mitul într-o simplă poveste de dragoste sau de așteptare pasivă, concentrându-se în schimb pe puterea exercitată în secret și pe complexitatea supraviețuirii.
Pe același raft cu The Silence of the Girls de Pat Barker, această carte se distinge prin refuzul de a rămâne doar în sfera tragediei umane, integrând capriciile zeilor ca un motor al destinului care amplifică miza alegerilor lui Penelope. Dacă în lucrări anterioare precum The End of the Day, autoarea explora personificări ale conceptelor abstracte precum Moartea, aici ea aplică aceeași rigoare intelectuală figurilor mitologice, oferindu-le o profunzime psihologică modernă.
Credem că ritmul romanului este unul contemplativ, dar încărcat de o tensiune mocnită. Nu este doar o repovestire, ci o reconstrucție a unui spațiu în care absența lui Ulise este mai prezentă decât ar fi fost întoarcerea sa. Claire North reușește să păstreze spiritul epopeic, însă îl ancorează în realitatea dură a unei regine care trebuie să prevină un război civil folosindu-se doar de inteligență și de alianțe fragile între femei.
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Specificații
ISBN-10: 0356516059
Pagini: 400
Dimensiuni: 149 x 229 x 34 mm
Greutate: 0.52 kg
Editura: Little Brown Book Group
Colecția Orbit
Seria The Songs of Penelope
De ce să citești această carte
Pentru cititorii care au savurat interpretările moderne ale mitologiei, această carte oferă o perspectivă proaspătă asupra uneia dintre cele mai enigmatice figuri feminine ale antichității. Veți câștiga o înțelegere profundă a modului în care puterea poate fi exercitată din umbră și veți descoperi o Penelope strategică, mult mai complexă decât soția fidelă din textele clasice. Este o lectură esențială pentru cei care apreciază proza poetică și analizele politice subtile.
Despre autor
Claire North este pseudonimul scriitoarei Catherine Webb, un talent precoce care și-a publicat prima carte la vârsta de paisprezece ani. Sub diverse identități literare, ea a explorat genuri variate, de la literatura pentru tineret la fantasy urban sub numele de Kate Griffin. Ca Claire North, s-a impus ca una dintre cele mai originale voci ale ficțiunii speculative contemporane, fiind nominalizată la Carnegie Medal și câștigând premii prestigioase pentru modul inovator în care abordează teme precum timpul, memoria și, recent, mitologia greacă în seria The Songs of Penelope.
Notă biografică
Claire North is a pseudonym for Catherine Webb, who wrote several novels in various genres before publishing her first major work as Claire North, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August. It was a critically acclaimed success, receiving rave reviews and becoming a word-of-mouth bestseller. She has since published several hugely popular and critically acclaimed novels, won the World Fantasy Award and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, and been shortlisted for the Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. She lives in London.
Descriere
Claire North brings a powerful, fresh and unflinching voice to ancient myth - darkly fascinating, raw and breathtaking' Jennifer Saint, author of Sunday Times bestseller Ariadne
From the multi award-winning Claire North comes a stunningly captivating, fiercely feminist retelling of the classic Greek myth of Penelope. It's time for the woman of Ithaca to tell their tale.
'The greatest power we woman can own, is that we take in secret . . . '
Seventeen years ago, king Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them have returned, and the women have been left behind to run the kingdom.
Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. Whilst he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that husband is dead, and suitors are starting to knock at her door . . .
But no one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne - not yet. Between Penelope's many suitors, a cold war of dubious alliances and hidden knives reigns, as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip one way or another. If Penelope chooses one from amongst them, it will plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. Only through cunning and her spy network of maids can she maintain the delicate balance of power needed for the kingdom to survive.
On Ithaca, everyone watches everyone else, and there is no corner of the palace where intrigue does not reign . . .
'Like Penelope at her loom North both weaves and unweaves, teasing out the threads of Homeric myth to recombine them into something unique, wonderful and urgently contemporary' M. R. Carey, author of The Girl With All the Gifts
'North's talent shines out' Sunday Times
'An original and even dazzling writer' Kirkus
'North goes from strength to strength' Guardian
'Claire North's writing is terrific, smart and entertaining' Patrick Ness
Recenzii
Everything I've wanted in a retelling: a vibrant cast, full of suspense, told with a phenomenal narrative voice - this is an absolute masterpiece
Told in the arresting voice of the goddess Hera . . . Ithaca conjures up a world in which women, abandoned by their men, must weave their own destinies
Claire North has set a new standard for Ancient Greek retellings. Absolutely sublime
Richly poetic . . . This is an impassioned plea for the lost, disenfranchised queens of ancient Greece, a love letter to the silenced women of history
Full of cunning and intrigue
A gorgeous, emotive feminist retelling of the classic Greek myth of Penelope
Like Penelope at her loom North both weaves and unweaves, teasing out the threads of Homeric myth to recombine them into something unique, wonderful and urgently contemporary
There is something fateful about The Songs of Penelope trilogy: that this voice would come to this story, a pairing so perfect it was worth waiting a few thousand years for. North's writing is evocative, vibrant and delightfully witty - capable of rending your heart in two or clutching at your sides with only a few words from a scathing and surprisingly ardent godly-narrator.
The queen of the gods narrates a crackling tale of secrets and intrigue... this is a ground-up view of Greek myth populated by spying maids, crafty merchants, and conniving queens. It's taut, suspenseful, and full of Hera's delightfully dyspeptic attitude. A thoroughly enjoyable exploration of Penelope's side of the ancient story
This is a story as entertaining as it is thought-provoking, as witty as it is intelligent. If you're going to delve into Greek retellings, let it absolutely be this one
North's novels are always complex and intricately weaved, and Ithaca is no exception. Narrated by Hera, it immerses you in Penelope's story and the wider tales of other women, both goddesses and slaves, as well as Penelope's son and her suitors . . . This fascinating and multi-layered novel won't disappoint.
The book shines and is clearly written for the women, telling the stories the poets won't. These characters are given depth; they are entertainingly and deeply flawed, ultimately grappling with their own place in a patriarchal society . . . North has penned a beautiful character study, offering a nuanced take on feminism, power dynamics and the identity of mothers. The groundwork laid for the sequels leaves relationships to be repaired and characters to face further growth. We are given a closing montage in Ithaca for the future to come in what is sure to be an insightful, original and assumption-cutting series
I cannot recommend this novel highly enough. As an added bonus, I've also just discovered some wondrous news; a sequel called House of Odysseus is set to follow. This won't be the last we see of Penelope. How very splendid. I cannot wait for more
Ithaca introduces the many, many characters beautifully and really lays the groundwork for an enjoyable and poignant series
North's talent shines out
North goes from strength to strength
An original and even dazzling writer