50
Used, New, and Out of Print Books - We Buy and Sell - Powell's Books
Cart |
|  my account  |  wish list  |  help   |  800-878-7323
Hello, | Login
MENU
  • Browse
    • New Arrivals
    • Bestsellers
    • Featured Preorders
    • Award Winners
    • Audio Books
    • See All Subjects
  • Used
  • Staff Picks
    • Staff Picks
    • Picks of the Month
    • Bookseller Displays
    • 50 Books for 50 Years
    • 25 Best 21st Century Sci-Fi & Fantasy
    • 25 PNW Books to Read Before You Die
    • 25 Books From the 21st Century
    • 25 Memoirs to Read Before You Die
    • 25 Global Books to Read Before You Die
    • 25 Women to Read Before You Die
    • 25 Books to Read Before You Die
  • Gifts
    • Gift Cards & eGift Cards
    • Powell's Souvenirs
    • Journals and Notebooks
    • socks
    • Games
  • Sell Books
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Find A Store

Don't Miss

  • Scientifically Proven Sale
  • Staff Top Fives of 2022
  • Best Books of 2022
  • Powell's Author Events
  • Oregon Battle of the Books
  • Audio Books

Visit Our Stores


Kelsey Ford: From the Stacks: J. M. Ledgard's Submergence (0 comment)
Our blog feature, "From the Stacks," features our booksellers’ favorite older books: those fortuitous used finds, underrated masterpieces, and lesser known treasures. Basically: the books that we’re the most passionate about handselling. This week, we’re featuring Kelsey F.’s pick, Submergence by J. M. Ledgard...
Read More»
  • Kelsey Ford: Five Book Friday: Year of the Rabbit (0 comment)
  • Kelsey Ford: Powell's Picks Spotlight: Grady Hendrix's 'How to Sell a Haunted House' (0 comment)

{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##

Penelopiad The Myth of Penelope & Odysseus

by Margaret Atwood
Penelopiad The Myth of Penelope & Odysseus

  • Comment on this title
  • Synopses & Reviews

ISBN13: 9781841957173
ISBN10: 1841957178
Condition: Standard
DustJacket: Standard

All Product Details

View Larger ImageView Larger Images
Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
0.00
List Price:0.00
Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist

Synopses & Reviews

Synopsis

“Homers Odyssey is not the only version of the story. Mythic material was originally oral, and also local -- a myth would be told one way in one place and quite differently in another. I have drawn on material other than the Odyssey, especially for the details of Penelopes parentage, her early life and marriage, and the scandalous rumors circulating about her. Ive chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. 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 doesnt hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. Ive always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself.” -- from Margaret Atwoods Foreword to The Penelopiad

4.3 6

What Our Readers Are Saying

Share your thoughts on this title!
Average customer rating 4.3 (6 comments)

`
emmejo , May 03, 2010 (view all comments by emmejo)
This book is the story of Odysseus's wife, Penelope. It goes from her childhood, through the events of The Odyssey from her point of view. Told in a mixture of songs, poems, plays and prose with a lot of flashbacks and -forwards, this book has a tendency to get disjointed. The writing is good, but very passive. It is hard to get really drawn in and it takes work to follow the storyline. The main character felt vague and distanced, it was hard to really empathize with her. She was very timid about many things and despite the fact that it is likely more historically accurate, I wanted her to grow a backbone. On the other hand she seemed to have no problem whining at the reader as a ghost about how awful her life had been and verbally attacking the people who had wronged her in her lifetime. I felt like I was dealing with a split personality here.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

report this comment

`
librarylapin , November 18, 2009 (view all comments by librarylapin)
I absolutely love Margaret Atwood's work and I love fictionalized recounting of women's stories so I was very happy to find this book. Unfortunately I was completely disappointed when I read it. Penelope seems almost shallow in this retelling with her simplistic perspective. I would expect a stronger, more potent, voice coming from Atwood. The character was very disappointing and I found the rivalry between her and Helen to be horribly stereotypical (beauty vs. intelligence). The story is fun and the poetry is wonderful so I would still recommend the read but don't expect Atwood's usually amazing quality of writing on this one.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

(2 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment

`
Maya.Brandon , January 16, 2009 (view all comments by Maya.Brandon)
Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad is a distinctly fresh revisionist telling of a classic myth. She adeptly rights the wrongs from which Pallas Athena allowed Odysseus to escape blame. The feminist spin is both truthful and pointed as well as contemporary and comical. A wonderful pleasure read!

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

(4 of 12 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment

`
daniaddp , September 04, 2006
this book was incredibaly good. I was assigned to read this book for highschool and i loved it! i could not put the book down when i started reading it. i found it so interesting how penelope lived her life. as i read i wondered what would happen next. this was a fantastic book!

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

(20 of 34 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment

`
Anaya , September 01, 2006 (view all comments by Anaya)
Atwood explores the famous tale of Odysseus from the Illiad in a different perspective. Like the title hints, it is Odysseus' long-suffering wife, Penelope, that is the heroine of the novel. Should not be confused with a "chick" flik type novel. The "Penelopiad" is much more deeper on certain levels as the novel presents the story of Penelope differently, but in the similar context as we see in Homer's famous epic - just a different side of the same coin, which reminds us to inspect and research both sides of a same coin. The story embellishes a women's steadfast devotion as strength and feminizes a rather male-oriented story. A true delight and different type of Greek mythology for any fans of the historical epics and folklores.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

(29 of 51 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment

`
caitlin , August 29, 2006 (view all comments by caitlin)
Every story has its variations, and Margaret Atwood tells this myth from the perspective of Penelope and her 12 maids, as they waited for 20 years for Odysseus to return to Ithica.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

(12 of 31 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment

View all 6 comments


Product Details

ISBN:
9781841957173
Binding:
Hardcover
Publication date:
11/01/2005
Publisher:
CANONGATE BOOKS
Pages:
119
Height:
7.75 in.
Width:
5 in.
Number of Units:
1
Copyright Year:
2005
UPC Code:
2801841957175
Author:
Margaret Atwood
Author:
Margaret Eleanor Atwood
Subject:
Folklore
Subject:
Penelope (Greek mythology)
Subject:
Odysseus (Greek mythology)

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
0.00
List Price:0.00
Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Used Book Alert for book Receive an email when this ISBN is available used.

This title in other editions

  • Used, Trade Paperback, Starting from $7.50
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram

  • Help
  • Guarantee
  • My Account
  • Careers
  • About Us
  • Security
  • Wish List
  • Partners
  • Contact Us
  • Shipping
  • Transparency ACT MRF
  • Sitemap
  • © 2023 POWELLS.COM Terms

{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]## ##LOC[Cancel]##