House of Odysseus

3.65 stars, rounded up, because halving stars is still impossible here. Honestly, it took me a while to get through this book, because tension/apprehension is tough for me to read through and this book had a lot of it. Menelaus was (accurately) the biggest piece of garbage, he made me furious, where beautiful Kenamon made me swoon. Narrated by Aphrodite, the prose improved a bit. Though most men are still absolute garbage in here, the characterizations sound slightly less preachy and fit in better. A surprise I really loved was that Teodora was still present and where we 'lost' Leaneira, we gained Priene. Eos and Autonoë played their parts well, as did Penelope's garden and the queen herself. She was still the clever insightful one, scheming and refusing to let herself, her women, or her kingdom fall prey to bullies. (Telemachus is still an idiot though, but the general focus is more on the women's inner world, worries and desires.) The end was lovely (if you know you know, justice was served). Definite improvement. Still with the fish commentary. Still funny.