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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
3.5
I liked it overall, as someone who enjoys reading Ancient Greek stories, I like the ones that give us a female POV.
Any issue I claim with this is just due to length. I enjoyed the details of Helen's early life, but for me, it started dragging once she ran away with Paris. Things picked up once the war really started but it was still a long way to go till the end.
I appreciated how the author expanded on Helen's life and the mythological details she carefully included throughout the novel though.
I liked it overall, as someone who enjoys reading Ancient Greek stories, I like the ones that give us a female POV.
Any issue I claim with this is just due to length. I enjoyed the details of Helen's early life, but for me, it started dragging once she ran away with Paris. Things picked up once the war really started but it was still a long way to go till the end.
I appreciated how the author expanded on Helen's life and the mythological details she carefully included throughout the novel though.
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel so torn giving this book 3 stars… so I feel I need to explain. As a historical retelling of the events of Troy and after, it was great, accurate and easy to get into. But as a lover of mythology and needing more than just an interesting recap through Helen’s simple and easy eyes, I expected more. I wanted morally gray, I wanted a bit of selfishness that was relatable and understanding, or a bit of what could have been the truth behind the exaggerated stories that came out of centuries told through Word of mouth and songs.
This Helen was too pure. Too sweet. She was treated as a trophy, she was hidden away like a prize to be won and isolated, she was raped as a child. I would love to read a story of her life one day that feels raw and real that allows her to be her traumatized guarded and selfish self. She chose a man over her own daughter, it is selfish, let’s not blame it on a god magicking her… let it be what gossip explains… let it be because of her life molding her into desperately needing one moment of happiness. Maybe let Paris seduce her only because she is a trophy at first, a symbol of their manliness to have the one girl everyone wants, but only wants because everyone else says they do, (we all know that guy), something! Let there be gray!!
This Helen was too pure. Too sweet. She was treated as a trophy, she was hidden away like a prize to be won and isolated, she was raped as a child. I would love to read a story of her life one day that feels raw and real that allows her to be her traumatized guarded and selfish self. She chose a man over her own daughter, it is selfish, let’s not blame it on a god magicking her… let it be what gossip explains… let it be because of her life molding her into desperately needing one moment of happiness. Maybe let Paris seduce her only because she is a trophy at first, a symbol of their manliness to have the one girl everyone wants, but only wants because everyone else says they do, (we all know that guy), something! Let there be gray!!
3.5 - interesting but it could probably cut out like 100 pages
The language is a tad lofty, but the attention to detail and the research that clearly went into this makes it a good read for anyone who's interested in the Trojan War from the perspective of Helen and the Trojans. "Heroes" like Achilles, Agamemnon, Electra, and others aren't so heroic when viewed from the other side of the wall.
I had really high hopes for Helen of Troy by Margaret George but I’m not sure they were met. There isn’t much I would say I disliked but the depiction just wasn’t what I wanted. My perception going in was definitely impacted by having recently read a number of books also set in/around the Trojan War. I was also a bit burnt out on reading so dragged a bit through it.
This was my first book by George and I’ll certainly try more because I liked her style of writing. I just didn’t connect with her version of Helen, although I did find certain aspects like the gifts from the snakes and an initial disconnect with Aphrodite intriguing. The overall story was missing something for me. I’m having a hard time pinpointing what that was though…more depth maybe? None of the characters came alive for me nor did the love between Helen and Paris. Lackluster is the word that keeps coming to mind.
I flip flopped between a physical book and audiobook like I typically do but I loathed the narrator on this one. That definitely impacted my opinion as well and slowed my progress. It’s a toss up between 3 and 3.5 stars on this but I’m averaging down since it really doesn’t hit that 4 star mark for me.
This was my first book by George and I’ll certainly try more because I liked her style of writing. I just didn’t connect with her version of Helen, although I did find certain aspects like the gifts from the snakes and an initial disconnect with Aphrodite intriguing. The overall story was missing something for me. I’m having a hard time pinpointing what that was though…more depth maybe? None of the characters came alive for me nor did the love between Helen and Paris. Lackluster is the word that keeps coming to mind.
I flip flopped between a physical book and audiobook like I typically do but I loathed the narrator on this one. That definitely impacted my opinion as well and slowed my progress. It’s a toss up between 3 and 3.5 stars on this but I’m averaging down since it really doesn’t hit that 4 star mark for me.
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful! Heartbreaking!
Margaret George is definitely one of my favourite authors now.
Margaret George is definitely one of my favourite authors now.
Ooh buddy. Anyone who I came in contact with while I was reading this was given fun facts they certainly didn’t ask for.
This was probably one of the slower reads I’ve had in a while, with it taking about an hour to read 30 pages - but truly, it was well worth it.
Helen is SO messy, dramatic, self-involved, foolish, and I LOVE it. She trusts a snake’s approval more than the prophecies from like 50 other people. Girl is wild. How is she going to convince Menelaus to run for days and nights to prove his love for her and then dump him for the first teen that gives her attention? Respect the cougar at work.
Menelaus isn’t perfect, obviously. He had a woman on the side and a casual family curse that would doom him forever. Meanwhile, Paris probably needed to work through some family issues of his own before taking another man’s wife to his home.
I’ll forever think it’s crazy that Helen saw that Menelaus was bored, asked her king dad if he could give Menelaus some little tasks, only for the dad to be like “he can have my title even though he’s not from here, I’m ready to retire.” Then, she becomes queen of Sparta only to run off with Paris (taking the LONG way), and commits to life as a Trojan. Loyalty is not for the weak.
I did enjoy how petty the gods were. Truly, could’ve had more content on them, especially Athena. Helen was constantly disrespecting Aphrodite, so she got what she got for that behavior.
I need to know what the horse looked like to the Trojans after years in battle for them to want to bring it into their walls. Were they blinded by its craftsmanship? Their ego? Complete desperation to have something to prove that the war was for something other than a shady woman?
Also, would like to give props to Hermoine for calling Helen out later in life.
Clearly, I didn’t realize how little I knew about Helen, Paris, and the gang until really diving into every detail of Sparta and Troy in this book. I’m really interested in this author’s book on Cleopatra, but might wait a bit for that commitment.
Can’t do a 5 on this one because there were moments were I fell asleep. Just keeping it real.
This was probably one of the slower reads I’ve had in a while, with it taking about an hour to read 30 pages - but truly, it was well worth it.
Helen is SO messy, dramatic, self-involved, foolish, and I LOVE it. She trusts a snake’s approval more than the prophecies from like 50 other people. Girl is wild. How is she going to convince Menelaus to run for days and nights to prove his love for her and then dump him for the first teen that gives her attention? Respect the cougar at work.
Menelaus isn’t perfect, obviously. He had a woman on the side and a casual family curse that would doom him forever. Meanwhile, Paris probably needed to work through some family issues of his own before taking another man’s wife to his home.
I’ll forever think it’s crazy that Helen saw that Menelaus was bored, asked her king dad if he could give Menelaus some little tasks, only for the dad to be like “he can have my title even though he’s not from here, I’m ready to retire.” Then, she becomes queen of Sparta only to run off with Paris (taking the LONG way), and commits to life as a Trojan. Loyalty is not for the weak.
I did enjoy how petty the gods were. Truly, could’ve had more content on them, especially Athena. Helen was constantly disrespecting Aphrodite, so she got what she got for that behavior.
I need to know what the horse looked like to the Trojans after years in battle for them to want to bring it into their walls. Were they blinded by its craftsmanship? Their ego? Complete desperation to have something to prove that the war was for something other than a shady woman?
Also, would like to give props to Hermoine for calling Helen out later in life.
Clearly, I didn’t realize how little I knew about Helen, Paris, and the gang until really diving into every detail of Sparta and Troy in this book. I’m really interested in this author’s book on Cleopatra, but might wait a bit for that commitment.
Can’t do a 5 on this one because there were moments were I fell asleep. Just keeping it real.
I think it's just plain hard to make this particular mythological figure that interesting as the protagonist of a book. George does her best, and I think makes good choices - it was a useful read for me as character prep, because you can see how Helen is almost perplexed by her own actions, and occasionally sees through the curtain what a useless boy Paris really is, yet can't help herself. There's just enough intervention by the gods to make everyone's inexplicable actions work. That said, it was NOT a gripping read, and the attempts to deal with some of the other vagaries of the source material are a little too on the nose sometimes (the stuff about time passing strangely in Troy is just baldly stated, and if less of the book had been spent on the lead-up to the war maybe that alone would have made for a much more interesting quasi-fantasy novel, but this wasn't it).
Served its purpose while I was reading it, but I wouldn't really recommend to anyone just reading for enjoyment.
Served its purpose while I was reading it, but I wouldn't really recommend to anyone just reading for enjoyment.