The Silence of the Girls

The Silence of the Girls Book Description: One of the Best Books of the Year According to NPR, Washington Post, Financial Times and The Economist. Before I saw him, I heard his voice: his scream echoed within our walls. You didn't need to see him to recognize him, his fame would come to the places where he would fight: the great and intelligent Achilles, the god-like Achilles... We would not use any of these names when talking about him. We called him “Butcher”. The day he tore me away from my own city and my throne, everything about my old life was left behind. I was now the slave of an army that was on its way to take Troy, and the concubine of Achilles, who had killed my brothers and my husband. For him, I was a trophy that he didn't care who I was, nothing more. So what did he care about? His glory… because that was the bargain, that was the promise the deceitful gods had given him: eternal glory and honor in exchange for an early death under the walls of Troy. And his death was near, he knew it. But this story will not tell how glorious the war was, how bravely the men fought, it has been done many times. No, this is the story of those who were forced to be forgotten in history. Still, we will not be forgotten, even after years, mothers will sing Troy songs to their children, and we will not be missing from their dreams... nor from their nightmares. In The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker tells the Trojan War not through the eyes of revenge-seeking men like Achilles, Odysseus and Agamemnon, but through the eyes of Briseis, a woman in their shadow, and brings a brand new perspective to the Iliad epic. “The Silence of the Girls is a wonderful, rebellious and chilling novel about war and what it leaves behind. “Simply magnificent.” Diana Gabaldon “It is almost as magnificent as Homer's writings. Famous events and mythological names magically come to life again in this book. “A touching and masterful novel.” The Economist “The Silence of the Girls is a novel full of intelligence.” Kirkus “This book could not have been written at a better time. Barker is a true master of capturing women's everyday language.” Publishers Weekly “An elegant novel of the Iliad from the Man Booker Prize-winning Pat Barker. Everything about this book is so believable. “We can't recommend it enough.” Booklist “I, Circe was a tremendous feminist narrative, and The Silence of the Daughters is on a whole different level with every piece. This is the Handmaid's Tale moment in Pat Barker's oeuvre.” Sam Baker (From the Promotional Bulletin)