Exploring Retellings: Stories Told from Secondary Characters’ Perspectives

4 hours ago6 min read

For this year's Unabridged Podcast Reading Challenge (find out more here), one of the categories is "Retelling from a secondary character's perspective." This month's Book Club pick, Percival Everett's James, is a prime example—and a book I highly recommend!—but if you've already read this brilliant novel or would like to expand your reading horizons, here are some other options I recommend.

Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad (Bookshop.org)

Margaret Atwood returns with a shrewd, funny, and insightful retelling of the myth of Odysseus from the point of view of Penelope. Describing her own remarkable vision, the author writes in the foreword, 'I’ve chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesn’t hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I’ve always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself.'"

Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)

In The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker tells the story of the Trojan War predominantly from the perspective of Briseis. She is the young wife of a prominent man . . . until her city is conquered and she becomes Achilles's slave. While she was certainly humanized in The Song of Achilles, this perspective on her life brilliantly exposes the point of view of a woman who is nothing more than property, who soaks up even the smallest bit of kindness without mistaking it for true regard. Barker's writing is eloquent and spare and just beautiful. (Ashley reviewed this book here.)

Natalie Haynes's A Thousand Ships (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)

"A war does not ignore half the people whose lives it touches, so why do we?" Natalie Haynes's A Thousand Ships, which I listened to via Libro.fm, is a brilliant retelling of the stories of the Trojan War, including The Aeneid, The Iliad, and The Odyssey, from the perspective of the women who are impacted. Whether it's Penelope writing letters to the absent Odysseus or the tragic Cassandra who foretells the future over and over but can't get anyone to believe her, these women are flawed and vulnerable and strong but always keenly aware of their place in society (if they forget, briefly, they're swiftly reminded). This is in the vein of Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles and Circe and Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls, but it's also unique, told in episodic segments, cycling through the stories of twenty or so women, some repeatedly and others for one, brief moment. This is a a gorgeous novel, and the audiobook—read by the author—is a phenomenal experience. I highly recommend it.

Sarah Henning's Sea Witch (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)

This novel is challenging to promote without spoilers, so I'll just say that it's inspired by The Little Mermaid and is definitely not about Ariel. I loved the way Henning uses the fairy tale to consider the historical treatment of women and issues of class in the book's historical setting. There are wonderful considerations of friendship, romance, and family. (There's also a strong sequel, Sea Witch Rising, that I recommend!)

Madeline Miller's Circe (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)

This gorgeous interpretation of the life of Circe, who I knew only from The Odyssey, is a revelation. By centering Circe's story, Miller reveals the corruption in the power of this world: of men over women, of gods over mortals (and everyone with less power than them), and finds the ways that Circe can claim her identity for her own. Circe's voice is incredible, her backstory is compelling, and the way Miller weaves her source material through this retelling is stunning and inventive.

Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)

Here's my review from 2019: "I love this book SO. MUCH. Miller crafts a brilliant story rooted in mythology and in the gritty reality of love. Her interpretation of the story of Achilles through the eyes of his lover Patroclus is empathetic and powerful and beautifully written. I have never read the whole of The Iliad, but the characters I'm familiar with from movies and other epics are empathetic and complex and well drawn. I've started Miller's Circe immediately!" We covered this book, which I've read multiple times since 2019, in episode 238.

Sarah Miller's Marmee (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)

I read Marmee recently with my IRL book club and could not have loved it more. Miller uses her source material, Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, along with the biographical details that inspired the book to craft a moving story of a fully realized woman whose life and struggles lie in the background of the original novel. This epistolary story shares Marmee's stories through her journals, which allow an unfiltered look at the true feelings that lie behind Marmee's often placid proclamations in Little Women.

Amanda Quain's Dashed (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)

Dashed focuses on Margaret Dashwood, the youngest sister in her family. In Austen’s book, she’s a sort of afterthought to Elinor and Marianne (the “sense” and “sensibility” of the title); here, she’s the center. During her childhood, she was more like Marianne—she was impulsive and extroverted and emotional. After Marianne’s yearning for a man she couldn’t have ended in tragedy for Marianne and Margaret, she vowed to be more like Elinor: controlled and independent and organized. That meant putting mental space between her and Marianne. Dashed is a fun update/retelling that makes full use of Austen’s beautifully developed characters in a modern setting. (You can read my full review here.)

Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea (Bookshop.org)

Wide Sargasso Sea is one of the first retellings I remember reading. It's a retelling of Jane Eyre from the perspective of Bertha, the woman in the attic. Rhys, who grew up in the Caribbean, uses a few details from Austen's novel to inspire the tragic story of a woman who was cast aside as a result of her upbringing and her race. Her consideration of the ways that Jane Eyre romanticizes Rochester, despite his horrific treatment of his first wife, made me rethink the book I (still!) love, complicating the apparent simplicity of its love story.

Aiden Thomas's Lost in the Never Woods (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)

Wendy has basically been surviving since she and her brothers disappeared five years before. She returned after a few months, dressed in strange clothing, with no memories of where she'd been, but there's been no sign of her brothers. She and her parents have avoided talking about the tragedy, and Wendy has come to exist in solitude except for her best friend, just waiting for the day they can go to college and escape the absence her brothers have left. Recently, though, kids have started disappearing, and Wendy has to work harder not to think about those missing months. One night, Wendy is on her way home from work and decides to take a short cut through the woods, despite her parents' warnings against them, and she nearly hits a boy who looks just like the face she's been compulsively drawing for months.

Thomas's decision to shift this retelling to Wendy's point of view works beautifully, allowing the author to consider grief and recovery as well as the inevitable transition into adulthood. His curation of that original story, the details he included and those he transformed, are just delightful. (Check out Ashley's review here.)

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