Historical

The Silence of the Girls

The Silence of the Girls

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-11 09:52:47
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Pat Barker
  • ISBN：0241983207
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Summary

Queen Briseis has been stolen from her conquered homeland and given as a concubine to a foreign warrior。 The warrior is Achilles: famed hero， loathed enemy， ruthless butcher， darkly troubled spirit。 Briseis's fate is now indivisibly entwined with his。

No one knows it yet， but there are just ten weeks to go until the Fall of Troy， the end of this long and bitter war。 This is the start of The Iliad: the most famous war story ever told。 The next ten weeks will be a story of male power， male ego， male violence。 But what of the women？ The thousands of female slaves in the soldiers' camp - in the laundry， at the loom， laying out the dead？ Briseis is one of their number - and she will be our witness to history。

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Reviews

Kerith ，

A tough read of the Iliad from the eyes of Briseis。 Worth reading for those into classical epics （or， like me， wrote a ton of papers on Homer back in college days） - it is always interesting to read famous stories from differing points of view。 Some like to compare this one to The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley， which was also from the POV of a woman （Kassandra）。 Very different。 It is also a story of war， and what happens to women when they are considered to be objects。 It is not for the fai A tough read of the Iliad from the eyes of Briseis。 Worth reading for those into classical epics （or， like me， wrote a ton of papers on Homer back in college days） - it is always interesting to read famous stories from differing points of view。 Some like to compare this one to The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley， which was also from the POV of a woman （Kassandra）。 Very different。 It is also a story of war， and what happens to women when they are considered to be objects。 It is not for the faint of heart。 。。。more

Amálie （ami。ma。fotak） ，

2，5/5Ha， kdyby tři části， ze kterých se kniha skládá， neměly sestupnou tendenci co se týče kvality a zábavy čtení， dostala by kniha opravdu vysoké hodnocení

Nerisse ，

It’s good， with solid， easy writing and a decent plot， but this book doesn’t really do anything new with the story that it’s retelling。3。5 stars， rounded down。

Daniela Santos ，

I give this book 5 stars， since I consider it flawless。 It's not my favourite book ever， but I enjoyed so much the rawness。 Briseis' perspective on the Trojan war is very interesting and gives more light to the role of women during war times。I really think that the strong point of this book is the "realistic" way in which the author describes different situations。 Of course， this book is very focused on murder and rape， but given that in Ancient Greece this was sadly normal， I don't think it is I give this book 5 stars， since I consider it flawless。 It's not my favourite book ever， but I enjoyed so much the rawness。 Briseis' perspective on the Trojan war is very interesting and gives more light to the role of women during war times。I really think that the strong point of this book is the "realistic" way in which the author describes different situations。 Of course， this book is very focused on murder and rape， but given that in Ancient Greece this was sadly normal， I don't think it is bad at all。 Also， I would like to say that I found the author's writing very enjoyable。 。。。more

Ghaida ，

مفروض يكون اسم البطله هيلين مو هيلانه او هيلينا وانا افكر مين هذي عبالي القديسة ام قسطنطين😭😂🤡 اول مره اقرأ عن طرواده ماعرفت أسمائهم 😅قد سمعت عن طرواده قبل بس مدري كيف كانت بمخي مختلفه جذريا عن اللي بالرواية عشان كذا بالبداية عبالي رواية فانتازي بالكامل بس يعني انه حرب طرواده عموما 😬كمية المشاعر وعمقها بالرواية ديمم🔥

Oliver Shrouder ，

I think I just have a general problem with Barker and her ability to take absolutely stunning concepts and make average novels out of them

Caitlin ，

I really enjoyed this book。 The author’s writing is very witty and clever。 However I was a bit disappointed with the inclusion of a section from Achilles perspective when the book’s main aim was to finally hear the silence of the girls… Other than that， really great read

Romy 🍃🍓 （romyreads） ，

This was such a good read， I enjoyed the story and it was especially interesting because I know very little about Achilles。 I do wish that it would have been solely from Briseis’ perspective， but that wasn’t a big problem。

M ，

maybe this is the curse of every iliad retelling， but it really is a shame to what extent a subversive retelling from the point of view of an enslaved war captive is so utterly consumed with and dictated by the contours and conventions of her captor’s story it’s also not to this book’s benefit i think that the comparison can be so easily made to song of achilles， which is consumed by the same but brings out more richness， emotionality， and texture from the original in a way that justifies the st maybe this is the curse of every iliad retelling， but it really is a shame to what extent a subversive retelling from the point of view of an enslaved war captive is so utterly consumed with and dictated by the contours and conventions of her captor’s story it’s also not to this book’s benefit i think that the comparison can be so easily made to song of achilles， which is consumed by the same but brings out more richness， emotionality， and texture from the original in a way that justifies the story’s telling， whereas this feels more like a passive & detached recounting of the same events from the iliad， just through a different pair of eyeballs—it being from briseis’s perspective should shift something more fundamentally i feel？ in many ways the themes & conclusions felt expected & could have been pushed further or deepened though maybe it’s not fair to say that a story about a captive of war who is raped & enslaved is emotionally detached bc that’s how she survives？ 。。。more

Irem ，

sonu biraz gereksiz uzatılmış gibime geldi ama who am i to judge gerçekten eline sağlık pat barker bacım

Emma Sexton ，

4。5 stars。 This is a tough read but so worth it。 It doesn’t romanticize the realities of war。 I loved reading from a female perspective and getting to know Briseis。

maxfanaccount ，

i finished half of the book because as you all know there are two halfs so i’m currently reading the second half too。

Keira ，

I absolutely adored this book; it was horrific， but brilliant。 Briseis is a very strong character who suffers immensely from beginning to end， but remains strong throughout。 After reading ‘Song of Achilles’ it was very interesting to see how the character of Achilles differed from that novel compared to this one。 As you see Achilles from a slaves point of view it is drastically different to that of Patroclus’ in Madeline Miller’s book， which I really liked。 If you enjoy Greek Mythology I high I absolutely adored this book; it was horrific， but brilliant。 Briseis is a very strong character who suffers immensely from beginning to end， but remains strong throughout。 After reading ‘Song of Achilles’ it was very interesting to see how the character of Achilles differed from that novel compared to this one。 As you see Achilles from a slaves point of view it is drastically different to that of Patroclus’ in Madeline Miller’s book， which I really liked。 If you enjoy Greek Mythology I highly recommend this book！ It is amazing and Pat Barker’s written expression is incredible， I loved this book so much！ Just a quick note， if you haven’t read Madeline Miller’s ‘Song of Achilles’， I recommend that you read that first as there are spoilers for that book in this one， as it is very similar， just from Briseis’ point of view instead。 。。。more

Angela Serban ，

https://booknation。ro/recenzie-tacere。。。 https://booknation。ro/recenzie-tacere。。。 。。。more

Eric Brown ，

I started the book thinking it was just another book about Ancient Greece。 I finished it realizing I'd been blessed with one of the most remarkable books about that time in history。 Not only was the story compelling， but the style also had me dreading the end when I would have to say goodbye to all the characters that had become so real。 I started the book thinking it was just another book about Ancient Greece。 I finished it realizing I'd been blessed with one of the most remarkable books about that time in history。 Not only was the story compelling， but the style also had me dreading the end when I would have to say goodbye to all the characters that had become so real。 。。。more

Louise De Guzman ，

It’s so jarring to read someone talk in such a modern way when the novel was supposed to be set in ancient times。

Lily ，

Still a big fan of reimagined Greek myths， although this was not my favorite。 In this one， we see the perspective of Briseis， the war prize of Achilles， and through her eyes the unimaginable torture， rape， and warfare of the Trojan War in the Greek camps。 Comparing this book to Song of Achilles which I just read is practically unavoidable， and I found myself treating that book as canon and making note of when Silence of the Girls deviated from it， and therefore did not do Achilles and Patroclus Still a big fan of reimagined Greek myths， although this was not my favorite。 In this one， we see the perspective of Briseis， the war prize of Achilles， and through her eyes the unimaginable torture， rape， and warfare of the Trojan War in the Greek camps。 Comparing this book to Song of Achilles which I just read is practically unavoidable， and I found myself treating that book as canon and making note of when Silence of the Girls deviated from it， and therefore did not do Achilles and Patroclus justice。 Obviously， from Briseis's point of view though， Achilles is a complete psychopath， having killed her brothers and her father in front of her at the beginning of the book， while to Patroclus， Achilles is fulfilling his duty as general but at his heart is a kind and wonderful man and the love of his life。 In Briseis's version， Achilles sleeps with her all the time though， and treats her infinitesimally better than the other warriors do their sex slaves。 Great。 Patroclus's death was swift， Achilles's death was swift。 But oddly， I felt like we didn't get enough of the other women in the camp。 The whole thing is supposed to be these unheard voices from ancient times， but halfway through the book we get Achilles's perspective， which takes up time that could be used on the other women。 At the very end， Briseis muses about how she will remember all these women forever and all that， but it didn't feel earned since she spends most of the book preoccupied with her admiration of Patroclus and her begrudging interest in Achilles--watching his every move and observing how he confirms his prophecy。 There is a little bit about Uza and Ritsa， her friends from the camp， and the story of Chryseis and her deep empathy for her plight。 But because Briseis is Achilles's prize， she is kind of untouchable by the rest of the camp， though she shares their duties of serving all the men。 The plot was just jam-packed with action and death and horror with very little breathing room。 Right from the get-go， we see Briseis witnessing her family being murdered in front of her。 Then there was the camp itself with rape at every corner。 I guess that was what it was like in war camps in ancient history， but it made it fairly exhausting to read and I found myself getting jaded by some of the deaths （lots of spears through the eyeball， that kind of thing。） Briseis and the other women were completely numbed by their traumatic experience。 They performed their tasks wordlessly and counted themselves lucky if their conquerors didn't beat them or pass them around to the other soldiers。 Little snippets of pre-war memory come to Briseis every so often， but her life is completely changed and as she points out， she even finds a place for herself in it。 She knows she has a role and she fulfills it。 At one point， she almost escapes with Priam when he miraculously leaves the Greek camp unscathed to take Hector home for burial （only after Achilles drags his lifeless body around the ramparts of course） but in the end she decides not to！ She knows that the Greeks will win and the few weeks of happiness she might get *if* she can get back to her sister are nothing compared with the agony and fear that the conquering Greek heroes will wrack on the remaining Trojans。 She also knows exactly how she'll be used if she doesn't have the protection of being Achilles's woman。 And she knows that Achilles will die soon， so he won't even be that much help。 There's never been a worse rock or hard place to be in between。 That's what the whole book was。 （And unfortunately， not as beautifully written as Song of Achilles to make up for it。） While this was a rough read though， I'm glad I read it。 。。。more

Abby Cunningham ，

3。5⭐️

Kim Elith ，

An unexpectedly great companion read to Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles。 This is another reimagining of the mythology of Troy and cleverly weaves the perspectives of Achilles， Patroclus and Briseis to shape the traditional narrative in a new way。 There is such helplessness in Briseis’s experience and her constant wariness of Achilles is oppressive。 Barker ensures we connect with the importance of these silenced female figures from history and literature and know how they set the path in a new An unexpectedly great companion read to Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles。 This is another reimagining of the mythology of Troy and cleverly weaves the perspectives of Achilles， Patroclus and Briseis to shape the traditional narrative in a new way。 There is such helplessness in Briseis’s experience and her constant wariness of Achilles is oppressive。 Barker ensures we connect with the importance of these silenced female figures from history and literature and know how they set the path in a new direction centuries later。 。。。more

Emma ，

Maybe I'm missing the point， but I thought the whole premise of this book was to shine a light on the women in Homer's Iliad， but all the female characters do is describe what's happening to the men。 The ladies remain one-dimensional and under-explored， and the men are the most interesting and compelling characters。 It might be a good book， but I opened it with certain expectations which were absolutely not met， which has left me feeling disappointed。 It has such an interesting premise but faile Maybe I'm missing the point， but I thought the whole premise of this book was to shine a light on the women in Homer's Iliad， but all the female characters do is describe what's happening to the men。 The ladies remain one-dimensional and under-explored， and the men are the most interesting and compelling characters。 It might be a good book， but I opened it with certain expectations which were absolutely not met， which has left me feeling disappointed。 It has such an interesting premise but failed to live up to it。 。。。more

Salem ，

"because， make no mistake， this was his story - his anger， his grief， his story。 i was angry， i was grieving， but somehow that didn't matter。 here i was again （。。。） still trapped， still stuck inside his story， and yet no real part to play in it。" this book was。。。 hard。 it wasn't a fun read， to be perfectly honest， but it was a fantastic retelling。 pat barker has a magnificent way with words， so much so that i trudged through the rest of the book even when i wanted to tap out。 and tap out i ver "because， make no mistake， this was his story - his anger， his grief， his story。 i was angry， i was grieving， but somehow that didn't matter。 here i was again （。。。） still trapped， still stuck inside his story， and yet no real part to play in it。" this book was。。。 hard。 it wasn't a fun read， to be perfectly honest， but it was a fantastic retelling。 pat barker has a magnificent way with words， so much so that i trudged through the rest of the book even when i wanted to tap out。 and tap out i very much wanted to - i knew this book wouldn't be all rainbows and flowers （proven just a bit more by even the protag wondering if her story will be dulled down to a love story）， but sheesh。 it's not graphic， but it's not a joyous read。 i just think i need to start reading books that leave me a bit more happier than anything。 。。。more

Adrienne Dillard ，

I'm giving this five stars because I devoured it。。。and I can't remember the last time I was so into a story。 However。。。there were some quirky things about this book。 I was expecting it to be more about the rest of the women of the Trojan war。。。but it turned out to be mainly about Achilles and Patroclus。 Madeline Miller is pretty much the gold standard in telling that story， so I think Barker fell short here。 But I did love the character of Briseis and the fact that Barker never shied away from t I'm giving this five stars because I devoured it。。。and I can't remember the last time I was so into a story。 However。。。there were some quirky things about this book。 I was expecting it to be more about the rest of the women of the Trojan war。。。but it turned out to be mainly about Achilles and Patroclus。 Madeline Miller is pretty much the gold standard in telling that story， so I think Barker fell short here。 But I did love the character of Briseis and the fact that Barker never shied away from the atrocities of war， the horrors of humanity。 This book is unflinching in so many ways。 I always want all the gory details and this book delivered。 The modern language was a bit jarring， but I only think that bothered me because I write historical fiction。 I want things to be the least anachronistic as possible。 But I got used to it。 By the end I was sad to finish。 。。。more

Leanne Mullaney ，

“We’re going to survive–our songs， our stories。 They’ll never be able to forget us。 Decades after the last man who fought at Troy is dead， their sons will remember the songs their Trojan mothers sang to them。 We’ll be in their dreams–and in their worst nightmares too。”I have been a little obsessed with Achilles， Patroclus and the Trojan war since reading The song of Achilles and falling in love with the magnificent story Madeline Miller brought to us 。。。。 Yet from the very first line in The sile “We’re going to survive–our songs， our stories。 They’ll never be able to forget us。 Decades after the last man who fought at Troy is dead， their sons will remember the songs their Trojan mothers sang to them。 We’ll be in their dreams–and in their worst nightmares too。”I have been a little obsessed with Achilles， Patroclus and the Trojan war since reading The song of Achilles and falling in love with the magnificent story Madeline Miller brought to us 。。。。 Yet from the very first line in The silence of the girls Barker quickly reminds you that the Trojan war is very much romanticised in the favour of these great warriors like Achilles。 “Great Achilles。 Brilliant Achilles， shining Achilles， godlike Achilles … How the epithets pile up。 We never called him any of those things; we called him ‘the butcher’。”The silence of the girls shines a whole different light on the story through this brutal， haunting and disturbing modern retelling which is told to us from the perspective of Briseis - Achilles war prize after he has sacked her city and murdered her family！I really enjoyed this one。 （not sure enjoyed is really the right word！）It was such a beautifully written and utterly compelling read and quite the emotional rollercoaster！ 。。。 The characters so multi-layered and complex I didn't know what to think or feel and a few times found myself slightly conflicted with them。 The feminist spin Barker gives the story is done brilliantly - it is raw， it is brutal， it is heartbreaking， it is powerful！ 。。。 such an important read that puts the women， their stories， their daily abuses and sacrifices at the forefront。 I highly recommend！ 。。。more

Nora ，

DNF at 77%

Alice Weltermann ，

4。5

Rose Stewart ，

3。5 stars

Elsie ，

“Men carve meaning into women’s faces。” As a classicist I’m always so happy to see stories focusing on women。 This book did a wonderful job of it and I’m so glad！ I think the author made a great choice using the Trojan Women as a base for some of the plot points and it works especially well when tackling the concepts of the horrors of war and the brutality faced by women。 I do think that some characters （Like Achilles and Patroclus） could have been written better but this is a story about the wo “Men carve meaning into women’s faces。” As a classicist I’m always so happy to see stories focusing on women。 This book did a wonderful job of it and I’m so glad！ I think the author made a great choice using the Trojan Women as a base for some of the plot points and it works especially well when tackling the concepts of the horrors of war and the brutality faced by women。 I do think that some characters （Like Achilles and Patroclus） could have been written better but this is a story about the women and so I didn’t mind 。。。more

Cindy Boatwright ，

Awful。 Finally had to give up on it even though I was almost at the end。 Interesting concept to tell the story of the Trojans and Greeks from the perspective of the women who were taken as "prizes。" But if I had to read one more agonizing paragraph of how Achilles killed people with his spear， each one detailed with where the spear went through， how much blood and yuck yuck yuck。 Awful。 Finally had to give up on it even though I was almost at the end。 Interesting concept to tell the story of the Trojans and Greeks from the perspective of the women who were taken as "prizes。" But if I had to read one more agonizing paragraph of how Achilles killed people with his spear， each one detailed with where the spear went through， how much blood and yuck yuck yuck。 。。。more

MB ，

I’m not eloquent enough to write a proper review of this book but I think it’s a masterpiece and everybody should read it。

Madisen ，

"We're going to survive—our songs， our stories。 They'll never be able to forget us。 Decades after the last man who fought at Troy is dead， their sons will remember the songs their Trojan mothers sang to them。 We'll be in their dreams—and in their worst nightmares too。" I have been reading lots of "Greek mythology for adults" lately， and really enjoyed this one。 I would not suggest it to a high schooler， as it's a little too graphic。 The story mostly follows Briseis， queen of one of Troy's neighb "We're going to survive—our songs， our stories。 They'll never be able to forget us。 Decades after the last man who fought at Troy is dead， their sons will remember the songs their Trojan mothers sang to them。 We'll be in their dreams—and in their worst nightmares too。" I have been reading lots of "Greek mythology for adults" lately， and really enjoyed this one。 I would not suggest it to a high schooler， as it's a little too graphic。 The story mostly follows Briseis， queen of one of Troy's neighboring kingdoms， after her city is sacked by Achilles。 Pat Barker does a wonderful job of detailing the lives and suffering of the women involved， who are so often erased in the tellings of great wars。 The storyline switches from Briseis （first person） to a sort of omniscient view of Achilles。 What I liked about this story， and felt was different from a lot of recent retellings of Greek mythology， was that Achilles was significantly less sympathetic as a character。 While I love when books stay true to the love story of Achilles and Patroclus， Barker also brings up that while Achilles was the Greek's great warrior， he was a mass murderer in the eyes of the Trojan women。 Barker manages to incorporate both the fact Achilles and Patroclus were lovers， while painting a clear picture of Achilles's brutality。 I would read this again for sure！ I looked forward to picking it back up every time I put it down。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Silence of the Girls

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Silence of the Girls&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Silence of the Girls&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0