Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad: A post-modern counter-narrative to The Odyssey

📚 It took Odysseus 20 years to return home after leaving for Troy — 20 years Penelope waited. This is her story. While most modern retellings of The Odyssey over the decades (and centuries) have prioritized the titular character, Odysseus, very few have paid much attention to his stalwart and patient wife, Penelope — until Margaret Atwood. In The Penelopiad, the Canadian novelist and author of The Handmaid’s Tale directs her focus towards the Queen of Ithaca in one of her most brilliant — yet shockingly least talked about — works.

What to expect: “Now that I’m dead, I know everything.” So begins Atwood’s Penelopiad. Narrated by Penelope herself, the novel begins in the modern-day underworld (Hades). Penelope has long been dead, and she has had more than ample time to recall the events of her life — and omnisciently, that of her civilization. She muses on her upbringing, her marriage to the Trojan hero, and her tumultuous relationship with her cousin, Helen. The novel then dissects her 20-year wait for her husband and the events that shaped those arduous years, including the 12 hanged maids — a central yet discarded plot point in Nolan’s adaptation of The Odyssey.

What we liked: The Penelopiad is no usual Greek myth retelling and bears little resemblance to the works of Madeline Miller and Natalie Haynes, both of whom remain faithful to the Grecian context. Instead, Atwood subverts The Odyssey, dissects it, and counters it. Strewn throughout the narrative are tidbits of modern-day discourse — Penelope ruminates on modern historical figures, explores life in the 21st century, and compares it to her own, while her handmaids sing of injustice in modern courts. By veering from the path oft trodden, Atwood crafts a brilliant work that bridges past and present, proving that some things — the good and the bad — do not fade with time.

In just under 200 pages, with simple yet biting prose teeming with Atwood’s signature wit and dry humor, The Penelopiad truly stands out for its refusal to restrict itself. The book deftly explores sexism, misogyny, justice, and class — giving Penelope the autonomy and agency to tell her own story, the way it happened, when Odysseus remained at large.

The verdict: Whether or not you’ve watched Nolan’s The Odyssey yet, The Penelopiad proves a pivotal read that offers a contrarian take on the Greek epic. It is both gravely serious yet deliberately ludicrous at times — a balance only a literary genius of Atwood’s stature can accomplish. Despite being published in 2005, it remains fresh, relevant, and wholly entertaining.

WHERE TO READ IT- You can find The Penelopiad as an e-book on Amazon. You can also place a special order for the book through The Bookspot.