The Penelopiad | Margaret Atwood #Novella

 

Independent Scottish publisher Canongate Books brings together some of the world’s finest writers, in the Myth series, each of whom has retold a myth from various cultures in a contemporary and memorable way. The project was conceived in 1999 by Jamie Byng, owner of Canongate, who hopes that 100 titles will eventually be published in the series.

Authors in the series include Karen Armstrong (A Short History of Myth), A.S. Byatt (Ragnarok), David Grossman (Lion's Honey), Natsuo Kirino (The Goddess Chronicle), Alexander McCall Smith (Dream Angus), Philip Pullman (The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ), Ali Smith (Girl Meets Boy), Michel Faber (The Fire Gospel), Victor Pelevin (The Helmet of Horror), Jeanette Winterson (The Weight), Su Tong (Binu and the Great Wall), Milton Hatoum (Orphans of Eldorado), Klas Östergren (The Hurricane Party), Dubravka Ugrešić (Baba Laid an Egg), Salley Vickers (Where Three Roads Meet), and of course, Margaret Atwood with The Penelopiad.

The Penelopiad was one of the first books published in this series, in 2005. Simply put, it's the story of Penelope as she waits for the return of Odysseus. But this is Margaret Atwood at her best, so much, much more is going on once you enter this world.

Penelope is dead and 'living' out her time in the underworld. From this place of eternal wandering, she decides to do some story-telling of her own, to set the story straight. Her story is interwoven with the voices of her very own Greek chorus - the twelve maids hanged by Odysseus on his return.

Our various mothers | Spawned merely, lambed, farrowed, littered, | Foaled, whelped and kittened, brooded, | hatched out their clutch. | We were animal young, to be disposed of at | will, | Sold, drowned in the well, traded, used, | discarded when bloomless. | He was fathered; we simply appeared 

Why were they hanged? What crime did they commit? What was Penelope's role in their downfall?

Atwood teases out these questions as she explores the roles of women in Ancient Greek life (and the many similarities to modern life) in verse and in prose. 

I was a kind girl...I knew I would have to have something to offer instead of beauty. I was clever, everyone said so...but cleverness is a quality a man likes to have in his wife as long as she is some distance away from him. Up close, he'll take kindness and day of the week, if there's nothing more alluring to be had.

The role of patience, waiting and the appearance of submission hide the reality of women's lives lived away from the male gaze. The friendship and jealousy, the camaraderie and gossip that makes up one's daily life, when one has nothing else to do.

There are many misunderstandings and many conversations misconstrued. Stories and myths are created to cover up deceit and misadventures. Where the truth lies, nobody really knows. Not even Penelope, in the end. Or the maids. All they know is that they were murdered and that their 'most pitiable end' has gone down in history unremarked and uncontested.

It pays to be conversant with The Iliad and The Odyssey, to appreciate where Atwood has used original narrative or woven in her own interpretation. Every word is wrought with an older meaning which leads back to the original stories. However the snarky, sardonic voice is pure Atwood!

I loved every minute with this novella and I plan to reread it at some point (maybe when I finally get around to reading Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey).

First Lines: 

• 'Now that I am dead I know everything. This is what I wished would happen, but like so many of my wishes it failed to come true.'

Favourite Quote:

We had no voice,
We had no name,
We had no choice,
We had one face,
One face the same

Have you read any of the other Myth series books?

Can you recommend which one I should try next?

I'm leaning towards Jeanette Winterson and A. S. Byatt at this point.

#NovellasinNovember

#MARM2020

November Reading Challenge Sign Up Post

As many of you are well aware, November is THE month for reading challenges, with FIVE that I know of vying for our attention.

Naturally, MY own challenge, AusReading Month gets top billing here, but I am keen to combine some of the other options, with my Australian books, if I can. 

This means being a little organised.

I'm one day early, but this will be my sign up/introduction post for all FIVE book events happening around the world in November. 

Tomorrow, the MASTERPOST for AusReading Month will go live with a linky for all your posts, reviews etc. The Masterpost will be set as the featured post on the right hand side of my blog, for those of you who use a computer or laptop, to make it easy to find throughout the month.

For AusReading Month I plan to finish and review: 

• The Last Migration | Charlotte McConaghy (NSW on my bingo card)
• Our Shadows | Gail Jones (WA or NSW or even VIC)
• Stone Sky Gold Mountain | Mirandi Riwoe (QLD)
• Elizabeth and Her German Garden | Elizabeth Von Armin (NSW or FREE)
• Cockatoos | Brent of Bin Bin (aka Miles Franklin) (NSW)

My Australian non-fiction reads, that will double as options for Non-Fiction November are: 

• Only Happiness Here | Gabrielle Carey (NSW)
• Phosphorescence, On Awe, Wonder And Things That Sustain You When The World Goes Dark | Julia Baird (NSW)
• The Golden Maze | Richard Fidler (FREE)
• Writers on Writers: Josephine Rowe on Beverley Farmer (VIC)
• Griffith Review 68: Getting On | various authors (FREE)

A couple of children's books are on my radar too:

• Catvinkle and the Missing Tulips | Elliot Perlman
• Landing With Wings | Trace Balla
• The Stolen Prince of Cloudburst | Jaclyn Moriarty

I only have to find a book written by or in the ACT to complete two lines of the AusReading Month Bingo Card. I could reread one of my Marion Halligan books or jump in Paul Daley's Canberra? Other suggestions welcome, especially if it's a short story, essay or poet.

Non-Fiction November may be the inspiration I need to also finish these half-read books:

• A Distant Mirror | Barbara Tuckman 
• The Salt Path | Raynor Winn
• Salt Fat Acid Heat | Samin Nostrat
• White Fragility | Robin DiAngelo
• Vesper Flights | Helen Macdonald
• The Passenger: Japan | Europa Editions | various authors

For German Lit Month I plan to read: 

• The Land of Green Plums | Herta Müller - a very slim book that has the benefit of also being a #ReadingtheNobels contender.

Margaret Atwood Reading Month with Naomi & Marci is the perfect opportunity to read my very slim copy of The Penelopiad. 

Novella in November has been revived by Cathy & Rebecca. A novella has a word count of 17,500 to 39,999 words. Cathy & Rebecca have added a 150 page guide to help with classification.

• Elizabeth and Her German Garden | Elizabeth Von Armin (the latest Penguin edition comes in at 104 pages)
• The Penelopiad | Margaret Atwood

Finally, many of you who follow my instagram account will know that November is also JACARANDA month in Australia. Sydney puts on an amazing display every year, for about 3-4 week, from the end of Oct to mid Nov.  Which leads me to my very own personal challenge for November.

• I aim to take as many #iamreading pics with a jacaranda tree for backdrop as I can!

It has been a wet week, causing many of the blooms to drop early.

This is one of my favourite reading spots looking out over Mort Bay into Sydney Harbour.