The Children of Jocasta

The Children of Jocasta is a retelling of the ancient tale of Oedipus.There are two strands to the story, told in alternate chapters. The first concerns Jocasta herself, traded as a young girl to be married to the king of Thebes, many years her senior. King Laius needs a wife, or more importantly an heir. But he only wants a daughter, fearful as he is of a prophecy that claims he will be killed by his son.The alternate chapters are set slightly further forward in the future and follow Jocasta's children from the point of view of Isy, the youngest. Starting on the day she is attacked by a masked man in the royal palace she calls home, we follow the siblings through tragedy and heartbreak.I knew nothing of Oedipus before reading this (apart from the obvious of course), but the timeless story of these womens' lives is gripping and expertly told.

This is a brilliant retelling of the well known Greek classic of Oedipus.I loved the modernisation of the names and focus on the women. It made it seem like a recent story, which brought out the relevance of age old themes. It’s well researched, but Ms Haynes isn’t heavy handed in that- it’s a brisk paced exciting read.

Excellent story! I was always keen on the Greek myths as a kid, but I only knew the basics of Oedipus and Jocasta. Although a classic Greek tragedy the key elements always seemed a bit overblown and far-fetched to me. However this is a great retelling - one of those books that really takes you back and makes you think 'this is how it could actually have happened, and then spawned a legend'. In that sense it really made me think of the Mary Renault books - in particular the stories about Theseus 'The King must Die' and 'The Bull from the Sea'. Those books were really special too, some of the best I have ever read so I can think of no higher compliment really. It also reminds you of a Shakespearian tragedy, in particular Romeo and Juliet. Although some of the events in the book are of course tragic Haynes does a great job of interweaving the story of Jocasta and Oedipus's children, and also telling it from the point of view of Jocasta and Ismene rather than just the male protagonists. She provides a lot of humanity to the characters and the story in fact has some bittersweet facets to the ending - not quite as grim as I feared and also that made it ring more true, as if this was a real life family story. Great book, thoroughly recommended if you love the Ancient Greek myths - or even if you don't, great stories stand the test of time!

I imagine a reader's opinion of this book is bound to be influenced by their feelings about the original Greek plays by Sophocles that this novel retells. I came to the novel without any knowledge of the story of Oedipus or Antigone (the major characters in the plays) other than a vague idea about Oedipus via the Freudian named 'Oedipus complex'. So I was able to read with fresh eyes, no idea what was going to happen, enjoying the story as though it was an original. But I couldn't then appreciate the ways in which it deviated from or reimagined the originals.The story is told in alternating chapters by two women, both more minor characters in the originals. Jocasta is a merchant's daughter who as a teenager is sent to marry an elderly king. Ismene is her youngest daughter, who picks up the story ten years after Jocasta's death. Both are interesting and sympathetic characters, but I particularly liked Ismene. The story they tell is not a happy one (they don't call them Greek tragedies for nothing) but is compelling and well spun out.Haynes writes really well, with an easy, accessible style that is always enjoyable. There's no need to know anything about ancient Greece or the original myths to be able to appreciate the book - in fact I suspect it might be a bonus not to know too much. Certainly I was able to enjoy it in a way I might not have if I'd had more preconceptions about how the story 'should have' gone.But if readers can put aside their feelings about any previous versions, then this should be enjoyable as a compelling and well written novel set in a civilisation whose remarkable sophistication sat alongside the harshness of life in such ancient times.