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aeeckhardt's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
spatterson12's review
4.0
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.
mavisbird's review
5.0
This book was really fun and exciting. George does a great job of putting her own spin on the myth, but also keeping it accurate to the source material. It was clear she did her research while she was writing. Her descriptions of the destinations are so vivid you feel like you are standing with Helen. I definitely enjoyed this book and would recommend it to other history nerds!
mariefoxprice's review
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I really loved this book. I was invested in Helen and her story from beginning to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Slavery and Animal death
armorofstars's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
foxxie52's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This is one of my favourite modern books, beautifully written and extremely well researched, I have read it multiple times and will read it again.
suzemo's review
2.0
Meh? Margaret George, clearly did her research and chose what portions of different myths to use for her story (I mean, it's not like this was a "historical" figure strictly speaking, and there were always multiple myths for just about any personage/event from Classical Greco/Roman mythology).
This book was fairly bland, which Helen, herself being fairly bland. The story was told in Helen's first person voice, but as a disinterested bystander instead of the woman involved. Helen is also really passive, everything just happens to her (run off with Paris? It's because Aphrodite made it happen, loveless marriage, it's also Aphrodite's fault, other bad things, some other god's fault, even though the gods only appeared sporadically to actually do something).
I felt like George couldn't decide whether she wanted to go full on fantasy and kept hedging her bets where she could (Oh look! A god is speaking to her, but is he/she? Zeus totally favors Helen is a daughter, but does he?, just make up your mind already).
It was decent, but nothing exciting. I don't hate myself for making my way through this behemoth, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
This book was fairly bland, which Helen, herself being fairly bland. The story was told in Helen's first person voice, but as a disinterested bystander instead of the woman involved. Helen is also really passive, everything just happens to her (run off with Paris? It's because Aphrodite made it happen, loveless marriage, it's also Aphrodite's fault, other bad things, some other god's fault, even though the gods only appeared sporadically to actually do something).
I felt like George couldn't decide whether she wanted to go full on fantasy and kept hedging her bets where she could (Oh look! A god is speaking to her, but is he/she? Zeus totally favors Helen is a daughter, but does he?, just make up your mind already).
It was decent, but nothing exciting. I don't hate myself for making my way through this behemoth, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
kaywoodward124's review
5.0
Margaret George is a queen of historical fiction. She took a well-known, controversial tragedy and romanticized it to the point of absolute devastation. Looking through the rose-colored eyes of Helen, you live through every moment, every prophecy leading up to and following in the aftermath of the great Trojan War. Of course, this epic story is a version we hope to be true; the story in which Helen and Paris are fated mates and not the one in which he abducts her from Sparta. This is one of the most breathtaking, heartbreaking, detailed accounts of the Trojan war you can find and MG does and amazing job weaving together facts, legends, and myths to feel as though you were there yourself. I was just as enthralled by Helen’s tale as I was a decade ago, when I read this for the first time.
aethelgifu's review against another edition
2.0
got to page 440 out of 747 before my two week loan and three renewals expired. Very slow: Helen and Paris only reached Troy on page 273. I think the author wanted to embed Helen in her culture and society so there is a lot about her life in Sparta, and life in the Aegean Bronze Age in general. Tighter editing could have resulted in a slightly faster paced book which would maybe have held my attention and made me want to finish it.