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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Peferct modern retelling of Homer's Illiad and Greek Mythology. Stephen Fry's witty and wry style of writing makes this book easily readable.
adventurous
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sometimes you realise you're just not a fan of the Iliad. It's not everyone's kind of story - I love the beginning but then get immediately bored when all the manslaughter begins. The story of Troy is endlessly violent, concerned in its entirety with names and legacies. It's difficult to empathise with all these murder-suicidal maniacs, preoccupied entirely with honour and brutal conquest, hard to discern their motivations - they feel quite alien, distant. At the same time, there is psychological realism to the Iliad, some very understandable emotional core. Hector and Achilles shine bright as real men, imperfect and driven, but the road they take is incomprehensible to my bourgeois sensibilities.
And then there are women, subjected endlessly to kidnappings and enslavement, never having a say in their fate, and the best thing we have is a quiet hope that maybe, just maybe, they find brief peace in company of their captors.
The story is a tough beast to conquer, but Fry makes it easy. There are many moments of brilliance, the haunting sad chapters that catch you off guard. There are characters whom you get to know and mourn, and the heavy atmosphere that never lets you forget this is a tragedy.
If you want to read the Iliad but want to avoid that one chapter that's just a list of names and ships, this is as good of an alternative as there could ever be.
And then there are women, subjected endlessly to kidnappings and enslavement, never having a say in their fate, and the best thing we have is a quiet hope that maybe, just maybe, they find brief peace in company of their captors.
The story is a tough beast to conquer, but Fry makes it easy. There are many moments of brilliance, the haunting sad chapters that catch you off guard. There are characters whom you get to know and mourn, and the heavy atmosphere that never lets you forget this is a tragedy.
If you want to read the Iliad but want to avoid that one chapter that's just a list of names and ships, this is as good of an alternative as there could ever be.
Great read for the day before and my flight to Cyprus, fun as always though didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first two, which generally felt like they might have involved more research and effort on the part of the author. Anyway, definitely still worth a read!
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
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
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced