PositiveThe New York Journal of Books\"Life, Hadley shows us, is a web of chance: who our parents are, whom we meet, whom we love, whom we marry. We are formed by chance and sometimes liberated by it. The characters are so hauntingly real on the page that these lightly plotted stories are compelling page turners. Hadley’s understanding of her characters is complemented by her clear and lucid prose. Some stories may be stronger than others, but there’s not a dud in the lot.\
Honoree Fanonne Jeffers
RaveNew York Journal of Books... a sprawling epic ... These songs, or stories, are complex and often horrifying ... Song, is particularly affecting with its relatively small cast of characters, sense of place, and of a cruel history couched in lyrical prose ... a serious novel, a terrible but ultimately uplifting saga, its purpose perhaps best summed up in one of the epigraphs Jeffers chooses from W. E. B. Du Bois: \'You misjudge us because you do not know us.\'
Natalie Haynes
MixedThe New York Journal of BooksThough the resetting of ancient tales and myths in other times and places emphasizes their enduring relevance, fitting them into the tropes of the modern novel often diminishes their power...This happens to some of Haynes’s characters, notably Cassandra, one of the most tragic characters in ancient Greek literature ... Some of the human stories are more compelling than others ... Haynes is at her best when she lets her wry sense of humor come through, most obviously in the Calliope chapters ... Haynes doesn’t offer any particularly new insights into her heroines’ stories, nor into the stories of women in war ... Still, there is much to be learned from Haynes’s profound knowledge of her subject. For someone who knows the stories, it is a pleasure to revisit them. For anyone who hasn’t encountered them, it’s a good place to start.
