Clytemnestra’s Bind

DEBUT Wilson’s first-person retelling of the Greek myth of Clytemnestra soon hits upon the familiar aspects of her story: Clytemnestra’s forced marriage to Agamemnon, the births of her children, and the start of the Trojan War. Spinning Clytemnestra’s tale into a full novel is not easy, as she remains at home during the most famous events of the Trojan War and is little more than a footnote prior to that, and so the events of Wilson’s narrative are padded and sometimes entirely invented, simply to give the protagonist something to do. Wilson’s additions also furnish a backstory and greater character development for Aegisthus, previously relegated to the role of Clytemnestra’s lover. Readers may find the almost complete absence of familiar characters, such as Helen, Achilles, and Odysseus, odd, but Wilson makes up for it with her characterizations of Clytemnestra’s children. Each is true to their mythological origin story and has a realistic and unique relationship with their mother; this becomes the most interesting and well-developed part of Wilson’s novel.