House of names was a retelling of the story of Clytemnestra and all actions that the family takes when it comes to wanting to power and what they will do to get it. The way that House of names was written I actually found it easier to understand and found myself wanting to read more than just the assigned readings. I really enjoyed getting to see Orestes side of what happened in the years that he had been kidnapped and how he handled everything before coming back. Tolbin is very interesting in the way that he let scenes play out, especially ones that may not have been included in others writings, like how he spent quite a few pages describing the walk that Orestes and the guards made while they were being kidnapped. He spent time giving us the thoughts that Orestes was having and then really describing and showing the downfall of the world around them. Like how he made a point to show the guards making farmers test the well water before they would drink so that they knew it wasn’t poisoned, then describing the song the wife was singing to the children as her husband was dying and the guards stood watching. The other person is the story that I was just compelled to keep reading about was Electra, and the way she was manipulating the world around her to keep and really get the power she so desperately wanted. Electra really wanted the power that her mother had but knew she would not be able to get it on her own without there being great risks to her person and position. It was fascinating to see how much effort was being put into her plan to get this power, because by the time it was all said and done she had so many strings attached to so many different people that it must have been a nightmare trying to keep them from becoming tangled up and it falling to pieces before she really got to enjoy it.
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