Pat Barker's "The Silence of the Girls"

Kindle Customer: The story of Achilles and the war for Troy from the perspective of a conquered and enslaved Trojan woman. Sad but riveting.

United States on Oct 28, 2023

Holzhofer Uwe: Alles bestens

Germany on Oct 14, 2023

RSL: "Here is the story of the Iliad as we’ve never heard it before: in the words of Briseis, Trojan queen and captive of Achilles. Given only a few words in Homer’s epic and largely erased by history, she is nonetheless a pivotal figure in the Trojan War. In these pages she comes fully to life..." That's how the blurb begins. Sadly, it's not true. The words are not Briseis' and she doesn't come to life in these pages or anything like it.

That Pat Barker could indeed give Briseis an authentic voice or "bring her to life" is a very difficult and egotistical proposition, and it's not clear she even attempted it. What she has in fact done is appropriate Briseis' name in order to tell a thoroughly modern story full of modern sensibilities and modern conceits in thoroughly modern language. Where Homer at least gave Briseis a beautiful and moving lament for Patroclus (those "few words" dismissed in the blurb), Pat Barker erases her completely.

That is a shame. Even more of a shame is that so few seem to have recognized this and so many are lauding her erasure of the Briseis, instead. It makes me wonder if, by some miracle, Briseis could speak to us, would those who applaud...

United States on Sep 06, 2023

Sofia Boquist: “Great Achilles. Brilliant Achilles, shining Achilles, godlike Achilles … How the epithets pile up. We never called him any of those things; we called him ‘the butcher’.”

Such a good book, well written and never boring. I liked the way it was written and how it focused more on the Trojan war than The Song of Achilles did. The only negative thing I have to say is that it focused way to little on the women which the story was supposed to be about, or at least what I thought it was supposed about. I got the impression that this was going to show more deeply how the slave girls was treated and on a certain level there was but only though Briseis eyes. This book is about the main character Briseis and her relationship with Achilles as his bed-slave. This doesn’t necessarily make the book worse but I just find it strange that it’s supposed to be about the slave girls but are equally or even more about Achilles.

Sweden on Jul 31, 2023

Gina McDonald: I’ve never been a fan of Greek mythology but I enjoyed the delivery of this story, told from the point of view of Briseis, Achillies’ slave. I enjoyed the humanity the story gave to all the characters from Royalty to slave. I found the part 1 of the book a little less enjoyable as it seemed to dwell long on the women just watching the men, I couldn’t find the “story” in it however Part 2 brought it all together and the story emerged. It was an easy read and has even left me thinking about going back and rereading some of the Greek mythology I’ve read, and quickly dismissed, with a new point of view.

United States on Jul 09, 2023

Laura: Last year I went on a sort of "trojan war retellings/greek mythology retellings" bender.

This book was one of the highlights of this bender. I had read "Song of Achilles" right before this one and was thus fascinated by being able to hear about this war I had just read about from a completely different perspective. I also found Briseis quite compelling as a character.

However, I would warn people that this is not action packed or fast paced read by any stretch of the imagination. This is a slow and meticulous analysis of what happens to most women during wars and the psychological effects it has on them. This is about how people cope with war, cope with pain, loss, grief, and losing everything they've ever known.

Also, I think it is beneficial to be familiar with the Trojan war, before starting to read this book, as otherwise it might be a bit dry or uninteresting. I also think I enjoyed this a lot more since I had read "Song of Achilles" right before as it felt like a camera had suddenly switched positions and was finally telling the other side of the story.

Germany on Apr 24, 2023

Tracy morgan: I actually downloaded the wrong book and thought 'may as well read it as I've paid for it' I was hooked by the first page, I need to read more about her, the character was so strong and dignified. The book is so well written it just transported me to this place.

Spain on Mar 03, 2023

Cornwallgurl: Before I start I’d better get a couple of “Pseud’s Corner” disclaimers out of the way! I was recommended this book at a dinner party by someone I hadn’t met before who said they were reading an amazing book and how much they were enjoying it. Enquiry revealed it was this work; I said I’d read Pat Barker’s “The Ghost Road” years ago and admired it very much, but couldn’t remember reading anything else by her. So when I got home I ordered it up on Kindle after a brief look at what it was about. Next pseudish point – I’m probably of the last generation who were routinely taught about the Greek/Roman myths while at school. I don’t think it is necessary in order to enjoy this book, but it probably helps.

The problem was there were lots of books, illustrated by the high Victorians (think Alma Tadema, Waterhouse, Leighton et al) which showed people draped elegantly in chitons reclining near white marble pillars. There were also a lot of bowdlerised children’s versions of Classic Myth and Legend which rather airbrushed out the fact that, especially around the time of the Trojan Wars, this was an extremely savage and warlike bronze-age society with a...

United Kingdom on Aug 12, 2019

Book Junkie: Having read the works of Margaret Atwood and Madeline Miller, I may be a bit impaired/biased in my critical thinking (which is no longer truly critical thinking, then), yet telling the woman's side of the epic tales of Greek mythology has been done before and done far better. Although, I did enjoy Pat Barker's novel, it just does not stand up in the light of the works that have gone before it.

I was very pleased with how Barker painted Brisies, and she paced the story well. There are moments in this book that truly shine, yet her usage of "We-ll," and her habit of using a phrase verbatim in other parts of the book were an irritant and in my opinion, lazy writing.

So, why would I even give it 4 stars? Barker delve deeper into the day-to-day life of the fallen women in the Trojan war. She demonstrates what it truly means to be a slave. It is not merely a title, it is a state of mind that is at once abhorrent and, oddly a balm at times. She speaks to the true strength of women, the ones who endure rather than choose a swift death. She demonstrates the intricacies of relationships between the slaves and conquerors, as well as exploring the relationship of Kings and...

United States on Feb 25, 2019