A review by sofipitch
Troy by Stephen Fry

dark funny informative medium-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

5.0


 First off,  I got the hard cover edition and this book is so beautiful. It has think pages with color printed art from various era's that depict the myths being told. I dog ear books to keep my place and when I opened this book I considered not dog earing it bc of how nice it is (I ended up doing it anyways though, it's my book). 

This book is so comprehensive, it includes a lot of background on the myths and lineage surrounding the main characters in the Trojan war. It mentions myths that are usually less common. I grew up reading a lot of greek myth collections and obviously some get repeated over and over while some you might only see mentioned once or twice. Well Fry doesn't let a single story pass you by, he tells them bc he loves them. It's not until close exactly half-way through the books the Greeks make it Troy and the actual war starts. Which I don't mind at all, the stories surrounding the buildup are as good as the war itself. 

Like most myths, there are at time contradictory stories, other lineages and such that the author must choose one over the other. Fry includes a lot of other interpretations in the footnotes of the book. Some greek mythology fans can get angry at adaptations that don't do their favorite interpretation so I think it was a good way to keep those people at bay and show how comprehensive his knowledge on the subject is. 

Fry uses dramatic irony from time to time which I love in mythology retelling, foreshadowing disastrous events yet to come through casual remarks made by the characters.
 I love the pronunciation guides in the footnotes. I grew up loving greek mythology but since I grew up reading it all I never knew how to pronounce anything. 

The only thing that I found slightly disappointing is some minor events from the Iliad are left out, such as Posiden fighting with the Greeks or Hera seducing her husband to distract him so the Greeks could get the upper hand. They are mostly unimportant, but they are funny, and this book often searches for humor whenever it could, so it would've been fun to include them. 

Overall this book was amazing, I spent most of Saturday and Sunday this weekend reading it, I couldn't put it down. I can't wait to get my hands on the other two books, Mythos and Heroes. And I hope Stephen Fry doesn't end here but goes on to tell stories of two heroes leaving Troy which make up the Odyssey and Aeneid.





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