Hey Bookworm friends, if you like Greek myth retellings then today’s review is for you! I finally read Clytemnestra’s Bind and can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Thanks to #Netgalley & Neem Tree Press for the ARC; I leave my review voluntarily.
About Clytemnestra’s Bind
Author: Susan C. Wilson
Genre(s): Greek Myth Retelling, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Neem Tree
Format Read: Physical, ARC
Year Published: 2023
Series: The House of Atreus, #1
Cover Designer: James Jones
Synopsis
When Agamemnon storms the palace and takes the throne of Mycenae, Queen Clytemnestra’s whole world is torn asunder. Not only has he killed her husband and seven-day-old baby son, but he’s also captured her and forced her to become his unwilling bride. Stuck in her unhappy marriage, she vows to protect her children. When Agamemnon’s attention turns towards Troy, she fears his ambitions will destroy everything she has left.
Pace: Slow, Character-Driven
Tone: Bleak, Emotional
My Review
First, thanks to the author for including the family tree at the start, it was KEY. I consulted it like the Ancient Greeks consulted their oracles. Like all Greek myths, the relationships here are more twisted than a sailor’s knot!
The thread of the story is told in chronological order. We follow Clytemnestra’s POV from when her old life is brutally cut short, to her marriage to Agamemnon, to her children being born. We first meet Iphigenia: meek, kind, and constant. If you are familiar with this story, you witness every one of Iphigenia’s milestones with a sinking feeling in your stomach. Then comes Electra: wild, rebellious, and a dreamer. Lastly, Orestes, the Heir. Never good enough for Agamemnon but always striving to please.
The narrative mostly consists of introspective scenes of everyday life at court: women performing their daily chores and rites for the Gods. I loved the small, intimate moments where Clytemnestra tries to teach her children skills and life values as each child develops their personality. But, the story is punctuated by bursts of violence every time Agamemnon comes onto the page and the contrast is painfully stark. It’s heartbreaking to see the process of how a father who hates his children teaches them that women are to be reviled. How a father’s power & influence slowly poisons the children away from their mother.
“If a woman receives only cruelty or indifference from her husband, father, brother, or son, why should she trust her well-being to any of them?”
After all, this book is about how the House of Atreus, and especially Agamemnon, took everything away from Clytemnestra. Her family, dignity, past, control, and even children. But infuriatingly, even Aegisthus, her closest friend and lover, takes away her secrets. And yet, she gracefully navigates through it all, channelling every ounce of energy to protect her children. I loved her characterization: she is fierce and flawed, and despite all the trauma she’s been through she’s not depicted as a victim. She is honest about her mistakes and blind spots as a mother. Sometimes her attempts at discipline fire back, and sometimes her laser focus on one issue makes her neglect another but that makes her human.
Aside from the grisly first chapter that shows us exactly why there’s a curse on the house of Atreus, the reader only directly experiences what happens to Clytemnestra. Otherwise, we only see her reactions and how she deals with the aftereffects of events. That slight distance from Iphigenia’s fate hurt all the more. A cocktail of anxiety, hope and fear of the unknown rubs salt in the wound. Throughout the story, Agamemnon uses the control of information as a weapon, and in Clytemnestra’s mind we feel how isolating and confining that truly is.
“A peal of mirth almost escaped me at the notion of shaming the blood-soaked House of Atreus, as if it had ever been clean.”
I have seen and heard many retellings of the Iliad. I know the story of how Helen runs away with Paris and Agamemnon is ‘forced’ to go attack Troy to defend his brother’s honour. This part of the story always struck me as a ridiculous pissing contest, which at best ignores Helen’s agency and at worst paints her as single-handedly responsible for the war between the Trojans and Achaeans. Clytemnestra’s Bind is different in the way that it depicts Agamemnon’s involvement in inciting the war. Here he has a direct hand in creating the circumstances that lead to Helen and Paris eloping together, as he simply needed an excuse to sack Troy. This adds a more interesting level of nuance to the retelling that I have not seen before.
Final Thoughts on Clytemnestra’s Bind & Rating
It took me so long to pick up this ARC that by the time I did, I borrowed it from my library 😂. Now, I’m so glad I’ve read it because I’m bursting at the seams for the second book! The expected publication date is Nov 2024 in the UK, and in Jan 2025 in the US. Clytemnestra’s Bind ends around when Agamemnon sets off to attack Troy and Helen’s Judgement will pick up the story from Helen’s POV.
| CAWPILE | Rating (0-10) |
|---|---|
| Characters | 10 |
| Atmosphere | 9 |
| Writing Style | 10 |
| Plot | 8 |
| Intrigue | 7 |
| Logic | 8 |
| Enjoyment | 8 |
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Murder,
Accidental Cannibalism, Misogyny,
Domestic Abuse, Suicide
Moderate: Incest, Pregnancy, Child Abuse,
Miscarriage, Animal Death, Slavery,
Suicidal Thoughts,
Minor (Mention): War, Death of Parent
Let’s chat in the comments!
What is your favourite myth? Or what are you currently reading?
There was a classicist (Heinrich Schliemann) who was obsessed with Troy and was responsible for discovering its layered ruins: he was so devoted to the Greeks that he named one of his children Agamemnon. One wonders what Herr Schielmann saw in the nasty tyrant!
Oh my, I feel bad for poor little Agamemnon as a kid (I’ll call him Aggy). That name comes with so much baggage I bet his father had massive ambitions for him or something. Apparently he also had a daughter called Andromache, huh.
I loved reading Greek myths when I was young, but so far I haven’t picked up any of the many retellings of those myths! Some day I will get to them… Thanks for the review! This one does sound like it’s different from a lot of the Iliad retellings in how it presents the characters.
I loved reading Greek myths when I was young too and I love that their retellings are still popular, it’s fun every once in a while! Yes I appreciate when they give it a new spin or focus on different characters and I think this one did it well 🙂
Ooh this sounds fantastic. It does sound slower paced than some with the focus on daily life yet I get the impression that it makes it more emotional. Plus it’s nice to explore different aspects too. I also love that it gives a differing background to how the events at Troy began and didn’t realise that this was the start of a series when you first mentioned it. I’m definitely going to have to check this out. Wonderful review, it really leaves you wanting to pick the book up.
I’m not sure if I have a favourite myth, I’d have to read all the originals to decide 😂 but I have two books within the genre on my current library stack, one of which I’m picking up next.
Thanks Charlotte! I do think the fact that it’s a slower paced book it let me sit in her mind for a long time which made me feel the rage all the more sharply! Yeah so from what it looks like, it’s a trilogy and the second will be in Helen’s POV and then the third in Electra’s POV, at least as far as I understand. I can’t wait to see what you think of this one if you read it.
Fair enough I feel like it’s so hard to pick a favourite myth lol & oh cool which ones? Excited to see what you pick up next!
That makes sense and sounds as if it works wonderfully for the story. They sound like three intriguing viewpoints to follow then. It’ll be interesting to see how Clytemnestra and Electra compare especially having both experienced Agamemnon’s at home. Helens will be fascinating for the war she’s blamed for too though I’m sure. I definitely want to at some point.
Medea by Rosie Hewlett & Atalanta by Jennifer Saint.
I am curious about reading Elektra by Jennifer Saint because Electra here is not very likeable so I’m curious to see if she’s always portrayed that way or how Saint does it differently.
Oh cool, both of those sound great, I hope you love them! 😀
Ooh that’s interesting. I’ll have to see how I find her when I check this one out. It’ll be interesting to see if getting her POV will change how you feel about her too.
Thank you 🥰
Yes for sure 🙂 & me too, I’m hoping to like her more in Saint’s version but regardless it doesn’t matter coz her character is interesting & compelling either way.
I hope you enjoy the book whenever you pick it up and look forward to finding out what you think of her character in it.
Thank you 🖤