The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus

Margaret Atwood returns with a shrewd, funny, and insightful retelling of the myth of Odysseus from the point of view of Penelope. Describing her own remarkable vision, the author writes in the foreword, “I€ve 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 doesn€t hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I€ve always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself.€ One of the high points of literary fiction in 2005, this critically acclaimed story found a vast audience and is finally available in paperback.