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A review by diana_dea
Helen of Troy by Margaret George
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
3.0
I really liked that this told Helen's story from her childhood until her death, her time before and after Troy is not something I had really considered previously and to my surprise, I enjoyed those parts of the book the most. I felt George's building of the historical settings was well done overall and the story felt rooted enough in Bronze Age Greece. My favourite part of the book were probably the last fifty pages, I really liked the ending.
That said, the middle part really stretched on for a long time. This book did not need to be 600 pages. I liked seeing the dynamics within Troy and its royal family and many of the characters we know from myth, like Hector or Priam, were done well enough. But, considering we already know what will happen, the story just became quite monotonous. Helen's perspective of course does not show a lot of parts of the war, as she is not on the battlefield, but I would have liked to instead have something of more substance about the goings on inside the city and among the women and those not directly engaged in the fight than relying on the author's flimsy solution of giving Helen a gift of prophecy that allowed her to foresee and witness things she should not be able to see. There's already enough prophecies and seers in Troy, we don't need one more.
Overall, it was just fine, the best parts those that are not actually set in Troy, but if I were asked to recommend a Homeric retelling, it would not be this one, except if you really want to focus on Helen.
That said, the middle part really stretched on for a long time. This book did not need to be 600 pages. I liked seeing the dynamics within Troy and its royal family and many of the characters we know from myth, like Hector or Priam, were done well enough. But, considering we already know what will happen, the story just became quite monotonous. Helen's perspective of course does not show a lot of parts of the war, as she is not on the battlefield, but I would have liked to instead have something of more substance about the goings on inside the city and among the women and those not directly engaged in the fight than relying on the author's flimsy solution of giving Helen a gift of prophecy that allowed her to foresee and witness things she should not be able to see. There's already enough prophecies and seers in Troy, we don't need one more.
Overall, it was just fine, the best parts those that are not actually set in Troy, but if I were asked to recommend a Homeric retelling, it would not be this one, except if you really want to focus on Helen.