A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
UK Publication: July 2020
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Pan Macmillan (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

One word review – Epic

Synopsis from Goodreads: From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.

A woman’s epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world’s great tale ever told.

My Thoughts: Going into this book I only had a very basic knowledge of the Trojan war and obviously my knowledge can from what I was taught at school which as you can probably guess revolved around the male perspective of the situation. Haynes takes this story and turns is on its head by focussing on the women, their reactions to events and their treatment by the men who we are all used to hailing as heroes.

The great thing about this book is you don’t need a detailed knowledge of Greek mythology to appreciate it, that said you may get even more enjoyment from the story if you do know the background. Personally I don’t feel like I was missing out on anything but that could be because I missed the insider jokes.

I loved the different chapter styles but for me the best chapters were those written by Penelope as letters to her husband Odysseus through these letters you get the whole story of the Odyssey through a wife’s eyes. Some men will do anything to avoid coming home to their loving faithful wife.

It was also an eye opener about how the Trojan war was started, who was ultimately behind it and the reason why. A reason that is even more apparent in the world today.

Who would enjoy this? Anyone who loves myths and legends and is looking for a fresh new perspective.

We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think?