The series that began in October with Karen Armstrong's compelling A Short History of Myth continues, with electrifying new works of fiction from two of the world's most loved writers. Seller Inventory # 9781920885953īook Description Paperback. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability. She gives the story new life and reality. Atwood's dazzling retelling of the old myth is as haunting as it is wise and compassionate, as disturbing as it is entertaining. In The Odyssey, Penelope - daughter of King Icarius of Sparta, and the cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy - is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife. I've always been haunted by the hanged maids and in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself. The maids form a chanting and singing chorus which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of The Odyssey- what led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in The Odyssey doesn't hold water there are too many inconsistencies.

Booker Award-winner Margaret Atwood, who has reworked the traditional telling of the Odyssey narrative, says- I've chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids.

The penelopiad and the odyssey