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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.
carlylottsofbookz's review
2.0
I honestly can decide if this should be a 1 or 2 star book. Anything beyond that would be far too much, of course.
I read this book because it was a gift, and because I felt compelled to. It is very hard for me to put down a book--even if it's bad.
There were good moments in this book, and it is obvious to me that George researched several Greek myths. It was bought for me because I like Greek mythology...that being said, this was not a book that grabbed my attention. Perhaps it is a book for those who don't know/love the stories of the ancient Greece...whatever it is, this book was simply not for me.
There is no reason this book needed to be this long. It wasn't hard to read, just incredibly slow, and very boring at times.
I read this book because it was a gift, and because I felt compelled to. It is very hard for me to put down a book--even if it's bad.
There were good moments in this book, and it is obvious to me that George researched several Greek myths. It was bought for me because I like Greek mythology...that being said, this was not a book that grabbed my attention. Perhaps it is a book for those who don't know/love the stories of the ancient Greece...whatever it is, this book was simply not for me.
There is no reason this book needed to be this long. It wasn't hard to read, just incredibly slow, and very boring at times.
daisytudball's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Fantastic fantastic book. Even though it’s a long story, I was completely absorbed for a full week. Enjoyed every bit of it. There is obviously a large amount of war and death content and in the middle, I did find it a little tedious but it soon amped back up again.
Read if you want an escape :)
Read if you want an escape :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Violence, Pregnancy, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Death, Murder, Torture, and War
maths_the_reader's review against another edition
4.0
"Oh, what a world, when to die is deemed more noble than to live."
sherrios's review
3.0
Ah, Helen of Troy. The face that launched a thousand ships. Daughter of Zeus and a mortal, queen of Sparta, adultress. There are so many ways to describe her, and Margaret George definitely does not shy away from any of them. This book is so gorgeously written, and George has a particular skill of making the characters come to life.
But my <i>god</i>, is this book long-winded and dense.
In the afterword, George explains that she wanted to keep some of the epic poetry feel about it, which I believe is a good call. The denseness of the text isn't, on its own, problematic. The issue I have is that this is a 600+ page book that could have <i>easily</i> been cut in half. The first... 2/3 of the novel is tedious and boring, although the prose is lovely.
Being that I've been on a mythology kick, I picked this up because I wanted to see a different take on Helen. Very few things have been written about her outside of her involvement with the Trojan War, and most of it superficial. I wanted to feel something other than indifference towards her. And George definitely delivered there!
In terms of this portrayal, Helen is whiny, self-indulgent, and utterly witless. She has moments of cleverness, yes, but for someone who speaks with three (THREE!) gods <i>and</i> is capable of seeing the future in spurts, the shock she faces each fulfilled prophecy is a little much. Not to mention how shocked she is when Agamemnon, who has LITERALLY BEEN LOOKING FOR A REASON TO ATTACK TROY SINCE SHE MET HIM, actually starts the war.
Seriously. Come on. I get that hope springs eternal, but that was kind of ridiculous.
I did appreciate her and Menelaus' relationship. She truly did love him, she just wasn't in love with him. And I think that, without Agamemnon's influence (and, y'know, a host of prophecies foretelling otherwise), he'd have let her just go. And I did like that, after everything, they were friends and cared for one another.
So, I have mixed feelings. This definitely isn't a Madeline Miller portrayal of a Greek heroine or hero, and I still feel like she's captured it best. But, if this had been a bit shorter, I'd have probably enjoyed it a lot more than I did.
But my <i>god</i>, is this book long-winded and dense.
In the afterword, George explains that she wanted to keep some of the epic poetry feel about it, which I believe is a good call. The denseness of the text isn't, on its own, problematic. The issue I have is that this is a 600+ page book that could have <i>easily</i> been cut in half. The first... 2/3 of the novel is tedious and boring, although the prose is lovely.
Being that I've been on a mythology kick, I picked this up because I wanted to see a different take on Helen. Very few things have been written about her outside of her involvement with the Trojan War, and most of it superficial. I wanted to feel something other than indifference towards her. And George definitely delivered there!
In terms of this portrayal, Helen is whiny, self-indulgent, and utterly witless. She has moments of cleverness, yes, but for someone who speaks with three (THREE!) gods <i>and</i> is capable of seeing the future in spurts, the shock she faces each fulfilled prophecy is a little much. Not to mention how shocked she is when Agamemnon, who has LITERALLY BEEN LOOKING FOR A REASON TO ATTACK TROY SINCE SHE MET HIM, actually starts the war.
Seriously. Come on. I get that hope springs eternal, but that was kind of ridiculous.
I did appreciate her and Menelaus' relationship. She truly did love him, she just wasn't in love with him. And I think that, without Agamemnon's influence (and, y'know, a host of prophecies foretelling otherwise), he'd have let her just go. And I did like that, after everything, they were friends and cared for one another.
So, I have mixed feelings. This definitely isn't a Madeline Miller portrayal of a Greek heroine or hero, and I still feel like she's captured it best. But, if this had been a bit shorter, I'd have probably enjoyed it a lot more than I did.
headrickjeanne's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While very well written; I feel it didn't need to be as long as it is.
emjay24's review against another edition
2.0
Margaret George is a great writer, and i was interested to read her historical fiction treatment of the Helen of Troy story. Other people were too, apparently, as i was stopped at least three times on the subway/bus and asked about it. I never learned the story in school, but i've picked up enough about it from popular culture and retellings that i know what happened. This kind of tries to be historical fiction, but the gods are still there as characters that do things in the story, maybe not as full people, but they get talked to and those gods actually influence things, so it's more like a mythology still. That's fine, that's interesting. But this book just DRAGGED. I got to page 368 and the war was just starting. There are 600 pages. I am not one to shirk away from a large book - i was also reading a 1000 page book at the time, which i finished and enjoyed - but it has to make some progress. I did not really like the main character, Helen, i didn't really like anyone, and things took sooo long to happen. The best part is the first part of the book, when she's younger, but then it just gets slower and slower. I assume that it will pick up with the war, but when i realized i was just dreading reading this thing because it was putting me asleep, i gave up. I felt badly, since all these people seem to love or want to love the book, but I couldn't. If you like things with very long builds and a lot of wordiness words, try this story. Otherwise, try one of her other books instead.