I drew a stool to the cradle and sat admiring my baby. Was there any living creature, even a god, so perfect? But such thoughts anger the deathless ones and must be quickly renounced. “Ugly boy,” I said, though I couldn’t help smiling, since I didn’t mean it.

I love feminist retellings. The reimaginings of stories where women aren’t fully explored get an intimate rework to give them voices. Clytemnestra’s Bind is an exemplary representative, where our protagonist gets to tell her side of the story as a fully nuanced person: She is not painted as the hero, just as human.

I wasn’t familiar with her myth, but no previous knowledge is needed to enjoy this novel. Clytemnestra marries to be a queen and mother of kings. After one harrowing night, she is passed on like battle spoils to a cruel husband who has taken away everything she holds dear. She is set on revenge, but the protection of her children becomes a priority and she resorts to acting as the demure wife she is expected to be.

We see her dealing with the hardships of motherhood in a hostile environment despite living in luxury. Sometimes, she seems more worried about the status and potential glory of her children than their own safety and healthy upbringing, resenting those who take after their father’s brutality. She makes sure her kids stick to gender roles (men as leaders, women as wives and childbearers) to avoid awakening her husband’s ire, in her mind guaranteeing their happiness and success.

The depiction of the children was on point on how they navigated life looking up to a neglectful father, misbehaving, and abusing their privilege as nobility.

The ending was abrupt as the resolution remains open, perhaps because it is already known from the popular myth or because it will continue in the sequel. The series will continue later this year with Helen’s Judgement, centered on Helen (Clytemnestra’s sister) and Achilles during the battle of Troy.

The prose transfixed me from the start and I was instantly transported to the setting. The book elicits strong emotions with the blatant misogyny and cruelty Clytemnestra suffers, making her not justified but at least understood for her decisions.