Book Review: Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

‘Clytemnestra’ by Constanza Casati was released in 2023. It was her debut novel. The story, follows Clytemnestra, known as Agamemnon’s wife and Helen of Troy’s sister.

Having absolutely eaten up the trend of mythological retellings, I was elated to get my hands on this book. I loved reading many popular books about Trojan figures, and looked forward to exploring another Grecian woman’s story.

I absolutely loved how it delved into the complexities of her life. She was the oldest daughter and her father’s favourite, and went from living in a world where there was a semblance of equality among men and women. In Sparta, women fought alongside men, and trained in combat, but the world is wider than Sparta, and politics is complicated.

The story is divided into five parts, cataloguing Clytemnestra’s life: her youth in Sparta, her first marriage, her second marriage before her daughter, Iphigenia was sacrificed in a bid to ensure strong winds so the Greeks could sail to Troy, her rule over Mycanae after Agamemnon left for war, and his inevitable return. It is a novel that details the depths of grief and pure, unadulterated rage. It resonated with me, seeing Clytemnestra fulfil what she considered her rightful vengeance. I was rooting for her the whole time.

This book delved into the nuances of motherhood and the value of each child in a family. I loved how Casati navigated the complexities of Clytemnestra’s emotions after her baby was slain, and later having another child, one she vowed would live a long, happy life, and being unable to stop Iphigenia’s fate from being sealed, and of course, the way Electra perceived her mother’s favour.

It was such a beautiful book, rich with the conflicts of navigating politics and being a parent. I absolutely adored it. Reading the stories of forgotten figures in Greek mythology always inspires a sense of empowerment, and a cathartic understanding of how they handled the hand the Fates offered them. For Clytemnestra, a woman who shunned the influence of the gods, and saw the will of man as far more fearsome, her book was so rewarding. From the second I read about what happened to her firstborn, I knew my heart was going to be clawed out and stomped on! Worth it! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to any mythology lover, or feminist lit reader! It was a stunning debut, absolutely fantastic!