In this sapphic mythology retelling, The Odyssey is turned on its head. Melantho, a handmaid of Penelope’s who appears in just a few lines of Homer’s epic, shares her own story in Rosie Hewlett’s stunning new novel, Sweetbitter Song.
The Summary
Melantho grows up as a kitchen slave in the palace of King Tyndareus of Sparta. The summer she turns nine, Tyndareus’s niece, Penelope, comes to visit with her father.
After they each save the other from potential danger, the girls become fast friends and spend the next several months enjoying each other’s company. Penelope’s aunt, Queen Leda, is less than approving of a friendship between a princess and a slave, and Melthano bears the brunt of Leda’s punishment for their transgression.
Years later, Melantho’s path crosses Penelope’s again when the princess visits Sparta so her uncle can arrange her marriage. As a wedding gift, Penelope asks Tyndareus to give her Melantho and her twin brother Melanthius.
On Ithaca, Melantho has a chance at freedom when Odysseus is called away to the war in Troy. He promises to release her from slavery if she takes care of Penelope while he’s away. Melantho agrees to the bargain, and takes a position as Penelope’s handmaid.
In the years Odysseus is away, Penelope starts to build a community of equals among her handmaids and the women and children left behind on Ithaca. She helps Melthano take in other enslaved women and save them from violent ends. In this near-paradisical setting, their relationship deepens, and new facets emerge.
Odysseus’s return looms over them, threatening to topple what they’ve built and their blossoming romance. When he returns to the halls of Ithaca’s palace, Penelope’s wit and Melantho’s daring come together to defy the fates themselves.
The Review
One thing that was top of mind for me when I first picked up this book was the significant power imbalance between Melantho and Penelope. Rather than brushing it under the rug, Hewlett does her best to address this problem head-on, and Melantho’s enslavement is a central issue throughout the book.
I don’t know if there is a perfect way to write this type of story, but I think Sweetbitter Song might at least come close.
Penelope, Melantho, and Melanthius are vibrant characters. I loved Penelope’s wit and level-headedness. Hewlett gives her credit for many of Odysseus’s famous achievements, showing how easy it is for history to give men credit for women’s talents.
Melantho is brave and bold, unafraid to take matters into her own hands. Despite the harsh hand she’s been dealt and the violence and mistreatment she repeatedly faces throughout her life, her heart stays soft and vulnerable. She loves Penelope, Telemachus, her brother, and her friends deeply, even though she knows that allowing herself to love them may cause her pain.
Melanthius, Melantho’s twin, allows that pain to consume him. Although he is a minor character, I felt deeply for him. The wound he carries make him desperate, and his desperation leads to tragedy.
When I’m considering how I want to rate a book, I weigh both the quality of the writing and its entertainment value. What makes a book a five-star read for me, however, is whether or not it gives me that can’t-put-it-down feeling.
I felt genuinely disappointed every time I had to close Sweetbitter Song. It’s beautifully crafted, complex in its morality, and achieves peak sapphic pining with a relationship that spans decades and transcends both social class and strict gender roles.
This book was beautiful, heartbreaking, and an adequate rival to Song of Achilles for the best mythology retelling on shelves. Without hesitation, I give it five stars.
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