THE WOMEN OF TROY

Author Pat Barker and narrator Kristin Atherton combine their considerable powers in this second volume of Barker's Trojan trilogy, giving us a remarkable listening experience. After Troy's collapse, the victorious Greeks are trapped by onshore wind and cannot sail home. Instead, for 10 months, they drink and fight and plot. Filled with clever sketches of such mythic Greek figures as Agamemnon, Menelaus, Helen, and Clytemnestra, the story revolves around the now-enslaved women of Troy, and Briseis, a former Trojan slave who is pregnant with Achilles's son. Atherton imbues her clear, firm, warm voice with the intensity of a bard speaking across a campfire. Measured and vivid, she offers subtle vocal portraits of the protagonists and relishes every perfectly chosen word in this tale of honor, pride, and survival. A.C.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2021]