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linwearcamenel 's review for:
The Memoirs of Helen of Troy
by Amanda Elyot
Very similar to Margaret George's [b:Helen of Troy|10114|Helen of Troy|Margaret George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1309287645s/10114.jpg|12851], but didn't assume one knew the story ahead of time. Good for someone who didn't know the story before, because there were tons of explanations about Greek myths connected the Iliad, which were informative and fun for my inner classicist. When I read Margaret George's book, I wasn't all that familiar with the story, so I was somewhat confused.
The additions of the old earth mother religion being overtaken by the new Olympian religion made some sense, but made the book feel a little too new-agey. Too similar to The Mists of Avalon. I did enjoy the characters here...deals with more of Helen's life than other stories, and actually allowed Menelaus to be a character one could care about and be interested in. As a side note, has anyone ever written the Iliad from his perspective? It always seems like he gets lost in the midst of Helen and Paris, Agamemnon, Achilles, Hector, etc. I'd read about Menelaus, especially if he was a fully rounded character the way he was in this book.
The additions of the old earth mother religion being overtaken by the new Olympian religion made some sense, but made the book feel a little too new-agey. Too similar to The Mists of Avalon. I did enjoy the characters here...deals with more of Helen's life than other stories, and actually allowed Menelaus to be a character one could care about and be interested in. As a side note, has anyone ever written the Iliad from his perspective? It always seems like he gets lost in the midst of Helen and Paris, Agamemnon, Achilles, Hector, etc. I'd read about Menelaus, especially if he was a fully rounded character the way he was in this book.