You don’t need to be familiar with Aeschylus, Sophocles or Euripides to enjoy Colm Tóibín’s “House of Names” – though I suspect it might help a little to have a sense of the original story. Having recently watched the BBC’s dramatisation, “Troy”, I was familiar with the story of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra and Iphigenia at least.
It’s a little difficult to know what to say about “House of Names”, if I’m honest. I found it enjoyable and well written, and it has a pace and structure that encourages you keep reading. Adopting multiple perspectives on the same events gives the narrative a rounded feeling.
I’d certainly by tempted by Tóibín’s other work; perhaps most interestingly his take on Mary – Jesus’ mother.
Ian Gouge - Writer 