I jump right into this tale after finishing the first in the series, Ithaca. There is a new literary trend of taking old myths where the female characters were not fleshed out to reflect motives or agency, and rewrite the tales. The most popular of these is Cicre by Madeline Miller. I hope Claire North's book reaches that popularity level, as the books are quite enjoyable.
I have found neighbors to fall into three categories, The Nice, The Troubled and The Trouble. For Queen Penelope visiting neighbors falls into the latter categories. The Troubled, as represented in the characters Orestes and his sister Electra. The Trouble, as represented by the King of Sparta. Menelaus and his infamous wife Helen, who turn out to be a willing helper to Penelope.
The tale has multiple POVs, prominente among them is Aphrodite, the Goddess. We also hear Electra, Athena and Hera amongst other goddesses. Penelope also has a major POV, as it is her story. It all adds up to a delicious tale that more is happening on the Isle of Ithaca then just the weaving of a tapestry and holding off the notorious "Hundred Suitors,"
Now, I have to admit I love Greek Mythologies since I took a 7th grade class in the subject. Nearly a decade later, Penguin Classic reprinted new editions. I was working at an independent bookstore at that time and was able to score copies of Robert Fagels translations of The Iliad, The Odysseus, and The Aeneid. It was in one of the Forwards that I learned that the Homeric tales were oral traditions written down hundreds of years after in which the tale travelled about the then Greek World, with each area (City-States?) adding to the tale. It is now believed Homer was the GOAT of traveling orators, and thus earned the attribution as author. I am now in the mind that The Iliad and The Odyssey are the most famous Fan Fic ever.
I did the audiobook version of the House of Odysseus. It was narrated by the very entertaining Catrin Walker-Booth, who in the oral tradition of Homer, nails it.
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