A different perspective on the end of the story of Odysseus, told from the viewpoint of Penelope, his wife, who waited twenty years for him to go off to the Trojan War and come back. Atwood examines the death of the twelve maidens, killed by Odysseus and Telemachus after they kill the suitors. The twelve forgotten maidens, who are glossed over by Homer.
The maidens appear in the book as the chorus, as in the chorus from a Greek play. They comment on the action in various poetic and prose poems. Very imaginative and clever.
I wasn't very involved in the rest of the book though. Penelope's story seems a little distant. Not my favorite Atwood - she's written some excellent and impressive books, but still, it is clever and humorous, and worth a read.
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