The Silence of the girls by Pat Barker

Paperback, 325 pages

Published May 2nd 2019 by Penguin (first published August 30th 2018)

Historical fiction

Library

     

The ancient world was a brutal world. And Pat Barker writes it so simply and beautifully, with sadness and resilience.

Briseis family was slaughtered. Common women were given for soldier's use, or killed. Noble women were chosen as prizes. She was given to Achilles. This is her book, her point of view. Her seeing the destruction and brutalization of women. She realizing that everyone she loves with die or end up like her. And she is brought to a rapecamp.  We all know how Odysses for example wanted back to his wife, but did he have his own prize. Of course. Because women are commodities. She also ends up being the victim for Achilles hurt pride. Was it her he wanted, no. But she was his and so he sulks.

Men are fools and killers.

It was a good book. The best I have read about the Trojan war. It was another point of view. The victim's view. How can those songs have been thought as glorious when they all jsut bothered each other, threw infants of walls and killed pregnant women cos they could have bearing sons. War is never glorious.

“I thought: Suppose, suppose just once, once, all these centuries, the slippery gods keep their word and Achilles is granted eternal glory in return for his early death under the walls of Troy...? What will they make of us, the people of those unimaginably distant times? One thing I do know: they won't want the brutal reality of conquest and slavery. They won't want to be told about the massacres of men and boys, the enslavement of women and girls. They won't want to know we were living in a rape camp. No, they'll go for something altogether softer. A love story, perhaps? I just hope they manage to work out who the lovers were.

Queen Briseis has been stolen from her conquered homeland and given as a concubine to a foreign warrior. The warrior is Achilles: famed hero, loathed enemy, ruthless butcher, darkly troubled spirit. Briseis's fate is now indivisibly entwined with his.

No one knows it yet, but there are just ten weeks to go until the Fall of Troy, the end of this long and bitter war. This is the start of The Iliad: the most famous war story ever told. The next ten weeks will be a story of male power, male ego, male violence. But what of the women? The thousands of female slaves in the soldiers' camp - in the laundry, at the loom, laying out the dead? Briseis is one of their number - and she will be our witness to history. 

TMST

 

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.

 10/27/2020 How do you like to be scared? Horror or thriller?

Neither to be honest. I do not like to be scared at all. I have tried to watch zombie movies and tv, but I get really bad nightmares. It is freaky to be honest and trust me, you do not want to dream that zombies are trying to eat you.

Horror movies, nah, people are so stupid in them.

Books, well those are better, a bit of fright there could be good. And horror, cos thrillers, what, those are not scary. I also like more psychological terror and unknown then just plain scary

Next Week: 11/3/2020 What do you do for fun when you aren’t blogging?

Joint Discussion: Exit Strategy

Hello all! Carole and I will be discussing "Exit Strategy" by Martha Wells. I amin red and Carole in blue.

Author: Martha Wells
Title: Exit Strategy

(The Murderbot Diaries #4)

Genre: SciFi, Novella
Published: October 2nd 2018
Format: ebook

Pages: 176 

Summary: Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?

Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue?

And what will become of it when it’s caught?

Discussion:

I must say that this was my least favorite, frankly I was pretty bored most of the time.

Gah! Me too. The first couple of chapters I was really intrigued but then….I slowly started yawning and just waiting for it to end. 

I was at page 60 or something and was all caught up in my own despair, why wont it eeeeeend!!! I am sorry but this really soured the series for me. There is a 5th, I have not even checked what it is about cos I do not care.

Right? I am tempted to say goodbye to our beloved bot. BUT I am willing to try the next one but I do worry. 

You are kinder than I am, I am all bye bye Murderbot. There was nothing of Murderbot in this one. Where is that humour? It was just Murderbot being all blah. All those things that made the series fun were gone.

I think I chuckled once? Yea - the humour was gone and Murderbot was only badass once at the end which was cool, but it was so dry and there needed to be more. 

I am sad, I’d say this was barely ok. I had to push through. Stuff happened, but nothing really happened.

Sighs...I miss ART. LOL

Where art thou Art!

ART HAS MY HEART! Murderbot...I am willing to try one more….but meh. 

Number 5 is full length, FULL LENGTH?!?! What if it sucks? *cries*

UGGGGH. I think I would need to switch back to audio if that is the case. I did the ebook this time since my library had it. The narrator is good so maybe it’ll help??? Sighs. 

 I am weary, we could do 5, but how about a Murderbot break in November? 

Maybe we just need a break. Yes. I am good for that. Maybe taking a break and then jumping back in will work. The heart grows fonder with a little separation. Lol Or they could bring ART back? 

Break it is, and let’s hope Murderbot gets her groove back. Now to figure out what to read in November then…

Yes. *fingers crossed* We’ll find something. Maybe we can do something xmas-y ;)

I am all for xmassy

Woot!!! Soooo yes. This was my least favorite of the series. It was not funny and Murderbot seemed off this time around. Bummer overall for me. 

Disappointing. Sloooow.

Super sad. I have hope for the next. 

The end?

The end my friend! Until next time. 

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging for a long while now. The last few years the epic duo has been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

Audio: A princess by Christmas by Julie London

Narrated by: Justin Hill

Series: A Royal Wedding, Book 3

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Release date: 10-13-20

Publisher: Harlequin Audio

Historical romance

To review

There is just something about a male narrator when it comes to historical romance, I really enjoyed it!

Hollis is a widow who owns and writes for a popular women's magazine. This is the third book and in the previous ones her sister married a crown prince, and her friend married his brother. But yes even though they are in London for peace talks, I did not feel like I had missed something. It worked well as a stand alone, but it did make me want their stories too.

Hollis was kind and I just wanted something for her, she was stuck in place as people moved on and moved away.

So she meets Marek, a civil servant from the country that her brother in law is not keen on. Long story there, two warring countries, seems to be a bad guy in Marek's country causing trouble, and someone will be causing trouble in this one as peace is trying to be reached. But anyway, Marek was quiet, calm, loved his country and his peaceful life on his farm. Just this solid guy.

It takes a long time for anything to happen. They run into each other, they talk, and long long in things start to progress, and at the end I was holding my breath. They had to be together!!

A sweet book. I wonder if there will be more? I would like more.

As I mentioned I really liked the male narrator. I liked what he did with female voices, and he made his male voices really dark. But it was fun listening too.

After three years of mourning - and turning her dear deceased husband's gazette into the ton's sauciest source of fashion and gossip - Hollis Honeycutt feels her life has been strangely bereft of late.... Her sister is living abroad, and her best friend moved to the country. What must a young widow of rank and reputation do? Why, transform her society gossip sheets into serious investigative news, starting with a rumored coup...and the rather dashing, mysterious gentleman whom Hollis suspects might be the villain of her first real story, and she is the only one who can write it.

Marek Brendan is investigating terrible rumors of treachery and treason that threaten his home country of Wesloria, but he must proceed with caution. No one can discover the truth. After all, who would ever believe he is Wesloria's lost crown prince? Only Hollis Honeycutt's cerulean-blue eyes seem to know more than she's letting on - and worse, Marek can’t seem to resist her curious charms. But even as betrayal threatens a nation and a throne, nothing is quite so dangerous as the lovely young widow who’s determined to find the truth...and a prince of her own.