If you are looking for a book to leave you feeling absolutely empty, Jennifer Saint’s newest novel “Elektra” is for you. Like her other book, “Ariadne,” Saint stayed true to the Greek myths with an emphasis on morals and fate. From cover to cover, “Elektra” is an in-depth, heart-tearing story about rage, revenge and grief. Saint spared no detail and pulled me in chapter after chapter in her gutting rendition of the Battle of Troy. 

Following the original tale of “The Iliad,” Saint has readers see this war through the eyes of three women. The first, Clytemnestra, is the sister of Helen, the most beautiful woman in Greece. Clytemnestra marries Agamemnon, tying her blood line to the cursed House of Atreus. This family lineage is riddled with horrible acts for the sake of power, including cannibalism and murder. 

Clytemnestra’s story highlights the struggles of motherhood, a theme across Saint’s two books. She navigates rumors spreading, the death of her first born at the hands of her husband and the ten years of waiting to get her revenge. The grief and rage that fuels Clytemnestra is powerful, and you almost feel sympathetic enough to excuse her neglecting her other daughters– the key word is almost¬. In the end, Clytemnestra’s fate was decided the second she took her lover and made him king. In attempting to end the cursed line of the House of Atreus, she continues what is an unending cycle of killing. 

The second woman Saint illustrated is Cassandra, one of the many princesses of Troy. As a child, she dreamed of receiving visions from Troy’s patron god, Apollo. As a young woman, she is granted this gift, but with a horrible price: no one will ever believe her. She spirals into what her family views as madness and is forced to watch helplessly as her city falls to invaders. 

I felt the most sorry for Cassandra’s tale, as she went through mental and physical violence her entire life. No one believed her story of Apollo, but they naturally trusted her cursed brother’s tales that “forced” him to steal Helen away from the king of Sparta. Cassandra’s story is an unfortunate one that many women are familiar with today. No matter how true her statements are, people dismiss her as just overreacting or being crazy. The only thing that blesses her life is at least she is released from reality on her own wishes. 

The final woman is the title’s namesake, Elektra. She is the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, born only a few years before the battle of Troy began. As a young girl, she idolized her father, and waited longingly for the ten years he was gone. Unfortunately, when her older sister is slaughtered “for a fair wind,” her mother became emotionally gone, allowing for Elektra to build years of resentment. This resentment becomes full rage when her father is killed upon his return home, and boils over when finally his death is avenged. 

Elektra personifies the way rage and resentment harm you over time. While she started as a head strong little girl, she evolved into the most angsty, violent young woman, gripping to her belief her father was a saint. Her tale is the most gutting for me, as she grew up missing her father and never got to say goodbye. She lives through all the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I felt so extremely empty once the novel finally ended, truly embracing that life moves on even after all the violence and bloodshed.

If you want to feel gutted but in the best way possible, I highly encourage you to read both of Saint’s novels. They are available for purchase on Amazon, or you can read them for free at your local library. 

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