Book Review: The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker (2018)

Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy is another set of books that used to sell well in the bookshop back in the 1990s, and she is another author I always intended to read but hadn’t got round to, until I downloaded her most recent work: The Silence of the Girls. This novel promised to be something a bit different, going back as it does to the time of the Trojan war in Greek Mythology, and offering an account of events chronicled in the Iliad, but from a female perspective.

The story is mostly narrated by Briseis, wife of the king of Lyrnessus, which was sacked and destroyed by a raiding army of Myrmidons, led by Achilles. All men and boys were killed (including Briseis’ husband and four brothers), while the women and girls were taken captive to be shared out among the conquering Greek men. Thus, Briseis, who is awarded to the great Achilles as his ‘prize’, is transformed from a queen to a slave with no power, no voice, to be used and abused at the whim of supposedly the most feared and revered man in the world. This is the silence of the girls, with the story depicting the status of the women working in the background of the permanent camp of the Greek army that is trying to conquer Troy. They have their duties – perhaps all too familiar – cooking, cleaning, mending, serving food and wine, preparing baths, and, of course, in bed. Briseis hardly speaks at all throughout the story, either because she is not expected to (her voice is not considered significant) or she is too frightened. Yet we see inside her mind, learn her thoughts and fears, her intelligence, how she resists, survives, and comes to terms with her situation, and know what she would like to say, if she wasn’t silenced.

The story itself is that of Achilles, the hero of the battlefield. But through Briseis we also learn of his weaknesses, his insecurities, his terrible jealousy, his barely controllable anger, the wound that won’t heal after his mother walked into the sea when he was aged seven, and ultimately his yearning for death. However, given that the focus is on the women who remain behind each day as the camp empties of fighting men, the reader is largely spared any detailed descriptions of the ensuing battles, save for the shouts and groans that became audible when the Trojans were in the ascendancy, and the subsequent influx of injured and dying soldiers who had to be nursed.

I must also note that some of the discourse in the discussions between the likes of Achilles, Patroclus and Ajax at the end of a day’s fighting seemed more akin to some present-day, slightly overcompetitive blokes playing pool in the pub on a Friday night, rather than what you might imagine from the ancient Greeks.

I was not particularly well informed about the Iliad and Trojan war before reading this novel, and Wikipedia was a useful reference at certain points. However, this book is engrossing and vivid. I am aware that the whole stage is a myth, yet no doubt by casting a light on the fate of these women and girls, there is a great deal of truth within its pages.

 

Favourite character: Within the cast of so-called great men, Patroclus is depicted as considerate, kind, thoughtful, patient, loyal, and brave – a good man.