"Determinedly irreverent" - New York Times "Atwood's brilliance emerges in the skillful way she's woven her own research on the anthropological underpinnings of Home's epic into the patterns of her own stylized version of the poem. If finally this version of Penelope's life doesn't fully shift our own understanding of Odysseus' return, it does make for a fascinating and really attractive version of this old, old story, a creation tale about the founding of our civilization meant to be heard over and over and over. Or as Atwood's Penelope would have it, woven and undone, woven and undone, and woven again." - Alan Cheuse, NPR "Margaret Atwood's "The Penelopiad" shifts the focus away from Odysseus, to put his long-suffering wife, Penelope, and others of less consequence into the foreground. The plight of the maids.becomes its own visually stunning and unforgettable story in Atwood's hands." - New York Times Book Review "As potent as a curse" - Sunday Times "Explores the very nature of mythic story-telling" - Mary Beard "A witty desecration" - Observer "Pragmatic, clever, domestic, mournful, Penelope is a perfect Atwood heroine" - Spectator "Half Dorothy Parker, half Desperate Housewives " - Independent.