A few weeks ago I was in Troy, but now I am in Ithaka where Penelope and her son Telemachus are waiting the return of Odysseus. She has been patient for more than ten years and heard no word from him since the end of the Trojan war, but still she hopes he will come back to her.
At the start of the book we are introduced to twins, Kymene, Penelope's handmaiden, and her brother 
Ikarios. They have been brought up by their grandmother following the death of their parents, and are close friends of Telemachus, the three of them playing together since childhood. As she grows up, Kymene realises she loves Telemachus but as the child of a servant there will be no possibility of a marriage.
Pressure is being brought to bear on Penelope to choose a new husband and everyone is familiar with the story of how the suitors encamp themselves and their followers at the castle and try to force her into making a choice. We are also familiar with the story of Penelope promising she will make a decision when she has finished weaving a shroud and how she unravels it at night so that it is never complete.
Legend presents us with the devoted, virtuous Penelope who waits for her husband and greets him with joy and thankfulness when he eventually lands on Ithaka, but Adele Geras has given us a more vulnerable Penelope, one who feels love for another man and takes him as her lover, a Penelope who realises when Odysseus returns that there will be no instantaneous joy of reunion, but that they will have to rebuild their life together and learn to love each other all over again. This is an interesting take on the well known story and readers will understand this and empathise with her doubts and fears. The loves of Kymene, Ikarios and the deceitful handmaiden Melantho, with whom Telemachus becomes infatuated, run alongside the story of Penelope and her suitors and, as with Troy, we become involved with their daily lives, sorrows and joys so that though we all know what is going to happen, we really care about a happy ending.
The part of Ithaka which I found incredibly moving was, of course, the story of Argos. Anyone who has read the Odyssey will remember this loyal and faithful dog, who sits and waits for his master to return. He is old and smelly and can barely see or walk but Kymene is his friend and looks after him and keeps him safe. He spends his days sleeping and dreaming of the day his master will return and then he does....
"Klymene was about to speak when they all saw him. The dog they knew, the dog who could hardly walk, whose coat was patchy with age and mange, who dribbled and drooled and lay all day on a heap of dried skins, had vanished and in his place, a healthy animal with a gleaming coat and bright eyes was bounding
out of the palace gate, barking and barking, his tail wagging with joy. He came straight to the beggar and jumped up and both both front paws on Odysseus shoulders.
Standing behind Odysseus was the figure of Artemis.....'Honoured Artemis' said Odysseus, 'this is your doing is it not'
'Of course, Argos is near death. I have kept him alive long after his time so that he might have one glimpse of you; a short spell of perfect happiness; his reward for the loves he has shown you through the years. he has waited for you. Any creature who loves so much and is so loyal deserves a fond goodbye from his master. Say goodbye to him Odysseus.'...............Argos lay with his head on his front paws, as though he were stretched before the fire. His eyes were closed. Artemis took an arrow from her silver quiver and shot it up into the sky.....Odysseus bent down and picked Argos up and held him in his arms.."
Oh dear. I had recourse to my hankie when reading this passage.
This is yet another read where I can honestly end my review with what is now becoming a standard phrase 'I loved this book', and I look forward to 'Dido' which I gather will be with us before long...
