The Penelopiad (and the end of the Once Upon a Time Challenge)

The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus

Margaret Atwood

Hardcover: 224 pages

Publisher: Canongate U.S. (October 5, 2005)

The Penelopiad is a retelling of the Iliad and the Odyssey from Penelope's point of view. It is told in first person by Penelope, thousands of years after the event as she drifts through Hades, and by the twelve maids who serve as a sort of Greek chorus, telling their version in a variety of ways from poetry to rhyme to courtroom drama.  Atwood turns the traditional story of Odysseus around on it's ear, when she makes Penelope the center of the tale.  New angles and possibilities arise, both from Penelope's telling and from the accusations of the maids.  Odysseus's twenty year absence becomes, not a rousing adventure tale, but a burdensome trial for a wife to bear and Atwood skillfully takes the reader through a spectrum of emotions as Penelope and the maids deal with this ordeal.

A knowledge of Greek mythology and Homer's original tale is a must to appreciate the changes, both subtle and dramatic, that Atwood has made.  Without that background, I doubt the reader would find any enjoyment in this novel.


Atwood's talent is clear in The Penelopiad as she deftly uses a variety of narrative styles.  The result is a retelling that is at times shocking in it's difference, and believable enough to become entangled with the original, leaving the reader questioning.

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This was read for the "mythology" category of the Once Upon a Time Challenge, finishing the requirements for "Quest the Second".  I read two super good books for this challenge, this one and American Vampire.  I wouldn't have read this one, but for this challenge, and I'm grateful for the challenge for making me look at American Vampire in a different light.  Many thanks to Carl V for hosting this excellent challenge!

Folklore, American Vampire, and the Once Upon a Time Challenge

I read American Vampire (Volume One) back at the end of March (review) and it has stayed on my mind.  A lot.

In the various musing on it that I have done, I realized that it is perfect for the "Folklore" category of Once Upon a Time Challenge and I'm shocked that I didn't see it at first.  That's the thing about a book like this, though.  It is so layered it takes months to peel away at it; and the more I peel, the more I find.

Folklore takes the customs of a group of people and tells it in story form, usually (to my layman's mind) using a lot of exaggeration and showing that particular people to be something special.  Think of the Jack tales, if you will.

Snyder and King (especially in King's half of the novel) have taken the vampire legend and made it something completely American, indigenous only to this breed of people.  In short, they've created a new folklore.

If you like vampire stories, or the Wild West, or revengeful women, or. .. heck, just as long as you like to read but don't mind a little gore (okay, even if you DON'T like to read; this might be a good starting point), give this one a try.  Let it marinate for a while afterwards and see where it takes you.

Darn fine book.

Juniper Berry

Juniper Berry
M. P. Kozlowsky
Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Walden Pond Press (April 26, 2011)
Amazon Vine ARC reviewed.
4/5 stars

Subtitled "a tale of terror and temptation", Juniper Berry is a modern day fairy tale.  Our heroine is the brave preteen, Juniper Berry.  Juniper is the daughter of film actors, who have become very famous over the course of the past few years.  The more famous they have become, the more odd they have acted and the more they have distanced themselves from her.  She is sad and lonely and would willingly give up everything to have her old life back.

One day she spots a boy about her age, trespassing in her woods.  Over the course of conversation with her new friend, she discovers that his parents, too, are famous and distant.  Even worse: Giles has seen them doing something very odd in Juniper's woods.

Piecing together the unthinkable, Juniper and Giles set out to save their parents from whatever influence is causing this behavior.  What they discover changes them both, and Juniper faces tough choices, terrible temptation, but comes through a true fairy tale heroine.

Juniper Berry  is told from an omniscient narrator and occasionally uses words that I feel are probably not in the vocabulary of a 9-12 year old.  This happens early in the book, though, and the narration evens out as the story builds.  It has a good pace, and the story unfolds smoothly.  The characters of Juniper and Giles are particularly appealing, making their weaknesses seem all the more vulnerable and believable.   Juniper's parents are truly horrible, and the reader is able to feel Juniper's mix of hurt and confusion, making the redemption of said parents even sweeter.

Like most fairy tales, Juniper Berry has a moral, and it is spelled out very plainly at the end by the wood chopper (yes, there IS a wood chopper, told you this is a fairy tale!), Dmitri:

"There will always be temptation, wherever we go in life, with whatever we do.  There will always be an easier way out.  But there's nothing to gain from that.  We have to overcome such urges; we have to be stronger.  I fought hard and won."

While the moral of this story is a good one, it came across a bit preachy to me.  I felt like this moral of resisting temptation and winning as a result was obvious from Juniper's actions and didn't need to be spelled out.  However, I am not one of the targeted age-group; I am an adult reader.

This was Kozlowsky's first novel, and overall he did well.  There are a few things (namely vocabulary and blatant moralizing) that I think could be improved, and I expect will be improved with his next publication.  I hope he is published again soon, and would look forward to reading another of his fairy tales.

~~Read for the "fairy tale" category of the Once Upon a Time Challenge~~
I felt that Juniper Berry was a solid choice for the fairy tale category, as it contained many of the traditional elements of a fairy tale.  There is an unusually brave and selfless heroine, elements of the supernatural, an animal that can communicate with people and an unspeakably evil villain.  The ending is a happy one, with a universal moral.

It does differ from many of standard fairy tales, as it is set in modern day, and there is no magic for our heroine to use, not everyone involved does live happily ever after, and there is no under privileged person gaining what s/he deserves as a result. 

In addition, Juniper Berry feels like a fairy tale.  It's not obvious at first, but once the action starts happening, one realizes that this is a layered fairy tale, that there will be a moral, that it's not just a fantasy.  I think it's the temptation element that does it.  It seems to me that many fairy tale heroes have to resist a temptation that seems really great on the outside, but will ruin them if they take it.

Yes, on the whole, Juniper Berry follows the fairy tale template more so than not, and quite successfully so, to my mind.

Once Upon a Time Challenge V: Finished

I'm excited to participate in this challenge again.  I did so a few years ago, when I was book blogging on another blog, and found it a lot of fun.  Carl gives many choices of participation level, from no specific reading requirement to watching movie versions.  It makes it a challenge that everyone who loves fantasy, fables, and myths can participate in and have fun.

I'm choosing "Quest the Second" as my participation level:

Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology. This proves to be one of the more difficult quests each year merely because of the need to classify each read and determine which books fit into which category. I am not a stickler, fear not, but I am endlessly fascinated watching how folks work to find books for each category.

I might read or watch the requirement for "Quest the Third", if I feel so inclined come June:

Fulfill the requirements for Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream OR a viewing of one of the many theatrical versions of the play. Love the story, love the films, love the idea of that magical night of the year and so this is my chance to promote the enjoyment of this farcical love story.

 Even if you have no desire to participate in a challenge, you really should go by Stainless Steel Droppings and see the fantastic artwork being used for this challenge, and check out his reviews.  I've gotten many a good book suggestion from this blog!

Challenge Progress: Completed

• Fairy Tale: Juniper Berry by M. P. Kozlowsky; read 22 March 2011.  (review)
• Fantasy: Lover Unleashed by J. R. Ward; read 31 March 2011
• Folk Lore: American Vampire: Volume One, Scott Snyder and Stephen King, authors; Rafael Albuquereque, illustrator; read 25 March 2011. (review)
• Mythology: The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood; read 25 June 2011. (review)