Pat Barker: The Silence of the Girls

All English teachers know that a popular writing assignment is to retell a tale from the point of view of one of the characters, to demonstrate an understanding of the text, as a creative exercise (the best reason in my opinion) or to induce empathy for another point of view.

I originally pictured this book with Atwood’s Penelopiad but the realised I had commented on that in the main Fiction section of the site. However, if you have read one, then try the other.

With the Silence of the Girls, this technique is used but this time the character is Briseis, a minor character in the Trojan War story. But she is also a Queen, as is Helen, and this gives a fascinating and poignant tinge to the story. As it I think that this is often the case where a major/epic/very well-known story is seen from the POV of a minor figure. We end up looking at the original with rather different eyes.

It has been a long time since I read this, I would need to re-read to write in more detail but do seek it out, particularly if you love Homer and Ancient Greek literature.