And so, to part three of the trilogy, and the baton of carrying the narrative forward passes to Ritsa, a Trojan woman of mature years. She is in servitude to Agamemnon due to her usefulness as a healer working with his physician, Machaon. These three are on a fast ship back to Greece, along with Agamemnon’s prize captive, Cassandra. She is the daughter of Priam, the slaughtered King of Troy, and she is sort of married to Agamemnon, despite him having a wife, Clytemnestra, back home.
Machaon and Ritsa have their hands full with both Cassandra who is crazed with visions of the future, and Agamemnon who is racked by guilt over his sacrifice years since of his daughter Iphigenia to secure fair winds for Troy.
Back in Mycenae lies more trouble for them. Clytemnestra, ten years ruling the roost, is preparing a royal welcome suitable for her bigamous and filicidal husband. And for his upstart Trojan concubine. She, Cassandra, has her own murderous plans for the king.
Where will all this leave Ritsa? Clytemnestra and Cassandra are like a rock and a hard place. Ritsa needs to ensure she, unlike Agamemnon, is not caught between them.
Pat Barker continues to successfully meld the classical with the modern. Characters’ motivations are relatable to today’s world, and the dialogue is snappy and includes modern usage. An excellent finale to the trilogy.
[So much for
Agamemnon’s voyage home, what of the rest of the Greeks? On next to Stephen
Fry’s Odyssey to continue the Trojan reading journey.]
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