Hi everyone. Welcome back to Bibliophilia Book Reviews. Today, I’m doing my June Wrap Up. This month was rather slow compared to the previous two; I only finished three books. Here are my thoughts on all of them:
1. NONFICTION AND MYTHOLOGY: Troy by Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry’s Great Mythology series is a retelling of Greek myths similar to Charlotte Higgins’ Greek Myths: A New Retelling, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, Robert Graves’ The Greek Myths and Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch. Troy is the third book in this series (after Mythos and Heroes), and it focuses on the Trojan War. Some of the myths retold here include, for example, the Judgement of Paris, the abduction of Helen, the sacrifice of Iphigenia, among others. The events of The Iliad are also retold in this book and when the epic poem ends after Hector’s death and funeral, the book continues retelling the myths concerning the Trojan Horse, the deaths of Achilles and Paris, and the return of the Greek heroes after the fall of the city.
Stephen Fry relates the causes of the war, the lives and deaths of mythological heroes who were relevant to the conflict, among them Telamon and his brother Peleus; Telamon was the father of Ajax and Teucer while Peleus, the father of Achilles. The myths of Peleus’s wedding to Thetis, their early life as husband and wife, and the birth and childhood of Achilles are also told here. But the author also tells the story of Troy and how it fell, not once, but twice. How it was sacked first by Hercules and then by the Greeks. Each myth, whether about the Greeks or Troy, is interwoven in such a way that the crux between Achaeans and Trojans is inevitable. And in fact, it is. However, the section that retells the events of The Iliad is probably the shortest of the entire book. And I liked that. The book isn’t a retelling of The Iliad, despite it being retold in Part II. It is a retelling of the origin myths of the Trojan War and the myths relating to its aftermath. If you’re reading The Iliad for the first time, pick this book up before so you can read the myths upon which Homer’s epic poem is based on. It will help you understand it better. The writing is superb as well, and I highly recommended it to all readers. I Really Liked It.
2. YOUNG ADULT AND MYTHOLOGY: Daughter of Sparta by Claire M. Andrews
This is a young adult novel reimagining the story of Daphne, a Nereid who asks her father’s river Peneus to turn her into a laurel tree in order to escape from Apollo’s affections. After Daphne’s transformation, however, Apollo’s love for her doesn’t wither away and he adopts the daphne tree (laurel tree in Greek) as his own. That is why the oracle in Delphi chews laurel leaves before receiving the divine wisdom she transforms into prophecy or why a crown of laurel leaves is a symbol of triumph.
Daphne, in this book, however, doesn’t hate Apollo. But she doesn’t like the gods either. She is a 17 year old orphan girl wanting to belong to the city she grew up in but which does not entirely accept her. She is a young girl wanting to know where she comes from; a girl falling in love for the first time and a girl who refuses to accept that she is a pawn of the gods. Artemis, however, upends everything Daphne has worked so hard for and forces her to work with Apollo. Daphne is now the weapon the gods will use to fight the power that is slowly killing them.
This is an awesome precise, and I picked this book up wanting to love it but I admit it had a couple of things against it from the get-go. For starters, the genre. This shouldn’t be a factor, but unfortunately it is. Being a young adult novel, this book lacked the depth I longed for. I knew this from the start though, and still I picked it up because I was interested in the story. It is not a bad book, and I think that it is a great book to introduce a young reader to Greek mythology. But for me, it lacked the depth to engross me. Another thing against it was the protagonist. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with Daphne all that much and at times I thought she was somewhat of a Mary Sue. Yes, the author takes some liberties with the myths and that is fine. She changes, for example, who outwits the Sphinx; Daphne, of course, (originally that is Oedipus) or who kills Theseus. But I couldn’t connect very well with Daphne and that was a problem. A third thing that affected my reading experience with this book was the pronunciation of some of the names of the Gods and places. I also didn’t like that there were Greek words throughout the text that in my opinion did not add anything to the plot. Kataigída, yes. For Daphne is the storm. But anax and anassa for king and queen? Why not use the English equivalents? In my opinion, all these unnecessary Greek words were jarring.
What I did like about this book and the reason why I finished it is the presence of the Gods. I liked that Zeus took a back seat (for now) and that Gods and Titans we don’t usually see, like the Muses and Prometheus, take center stage. That was fun, and I enjoyed it. However, I doubt that I will pick up the next book in the series. Sadly, I can’t tolerate the protagonist enough to finish the second installment or the entire trilogy and I don’t want to put myself through that again. I don’t know why, but she reminded me too much of what men think a “strong female lead” should be and I instantly rejected that. She was just trying too hard.
3. HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY: Catherine The Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie
Robert K. Massie’s biography of Catherine The Great is a clear, detailed, engaging and well-researched account of Catherine II’s life. It is also a quick read, and I enjoyed how the political and historical background of Catherine’s life was explained in such an easy-to-follow and accessible manner. Some might think, however, that in trying to be accessible, the prose comes off as simplistic at times, but I think that this simplicity, clarity and straightforwardness in the author’s writing style is one of his main strengths. I, like many other readers, did not know a lot about this period of Russian history and I appreciated how the author tells her story to explain why Catherine is dubbed The Great, and why she is one of the most important rulers of the Russian empire in history. I Liked this book and Will Probably Read It Again.
That is everything for now. My next post will be my Mid-Year Freak Out Tag.
