Review: The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

Silence becomes a woman. This was the mantra that shaped the childhoods of Trojan woman for as long as Briseis can recall. Once, she was a queen whose only concern was bearing an heir. Yet the Greeks put an end to that story when they sacked her homeland, and rewrote her narrative as Achille’s trophy and slave. Now, a prisoner in her own land and subject to the will of a fiery tyrant, she can do nothing but watch as the country she loves is torn apart by war, and her brethren face a bloody trip to Hades. Where silence was once becoming, it is now enforced.

Few myths are as well-known as that of Achilles, and so in undertaking a retelling of this epic tale – regardless of perspective, Pat Barker is committing to a daunting task. Despite this, she delivers a masterpiece of historical legend bedecked in contemporary finery – this is the story of the tortured bystanders; of the women behind the battles. The Silence of the Girls tactfully and creatively brings to the fore those who were cast into the shadows of great warriors, forgotten and ignored. This is the story of the women of Troy, forced from their homes and int the halls and beds of the Greek men who tore their lives apart. These girls are silent no more.

Barker’s mythology casts the Trojan war in a new light – that of slavery, oppression and suffering. Behind the polished shields and swords of history’s greatest heroes lies the bitter shadow of those defeated – the women whose families were butchered before they themselves were given as playthings to the conquerors, beaten, raped and humiliated, they were forced to accept their fate or face death and dishonor.

The Silence of the Girls delivers a profound message through poetic prose and vivid imagery, against a familiar background tinged with the unknown. Together, this careful weaving of old and new, and said and unsaid, make this novel not just an enjoyable read, but a vital voice to the disenfranchised women of the past.

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker is published by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Random House.