The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (2005)

This is one of Canongate's Myth series--the first one or two of the myths to be published (Armstrong's A Short History of Myth was first, I think, and I'm not sure where Winterson's Weight falls--they may have all come out simultaneously actually). Anyway, I've never read anything by Atwood so I can't place it in terms of her work but it is a decent retelling.

I'm not super excited about it but it wasn't at all bad. It retells the Odyssey from Penelope's point of view (from the underworld in the 21st century)--adding in her life pre-Odysseus--with a chorus of twelve maids (those who were hanged by Odysseus and Telemachus upon Odysseus's return to Ithaca).

At first I didn't quite believe the voice of Penelope but at the story progressed, I settled into the narration (although some of the choruses didn't completely work for me). Atwood does interesting things in terms of allowing Penelope her story while also allowing the maids their story and allowing the two to conflict with the Odyssey and with each other. And, at the very end, giving us a glimpse of Odysseus and his afterlife. And, of course, Atwood puts a feminist spin on Homer while acknowledging that she's doing so--a sort of meta feminism--and allowing an intertextuality without over-stressing it but making it fun while not undermining or trivializing it (Penelope chooses to tell her story from the beginning, for example, because there are only two ways--from the beginning or the middle--and she thinks the former the better choice when, of course, Homer chose in medias res).

All in all a quick short worthwhile read. I'd need to re-read Homer but it might be interesting to teach this with the "original" text and something like O, Brother.