Ithaca
Eva’s Review:
Another story derived from the myths of Odysseus, specifically Odysseus’ wife Penelope, and Ithaca, his island Kingdom. The story focuses on the women of the story. The narrative perspective is a surprising deviation from the traditional. While it is like reading from a third person perspective, seeing from Penelope’s and the other character’s points of view, feelings, thoughts, it is actually written in the first-person narrative.
Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom.
Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door.
No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, and Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. Only through cunning, wit, and her trusted circle of maids, can she maintain the tenuous peace needed for the kingdom to survive.
