This big, big book adds up to a monumental disappointment. I will give credit that some of the mythic elements are well explained to be the culmination of propaganda put about by the various royal houses of the petty kingdoms of Greece themselves, or by their enemies. However, the labored and tedious setting up of these explications bog down the reader until one begins to feel like Sisyphus himself. Minor, trivial events are given pages of detailed description while the Trojan war itself is given short shrift. Helen and all the other characters never fully come alive and have no depth at all.
If you really want to see how mythic characters and events can be believably portrayed I suggest you read Edison Marshall's novel "Earth Giant" which relates the twelve labors of Hercules as if they occurred in reality. Or Henry Treece's "Jason" which recounts the voyage of the Argonauts to Colchis.
This "Helen of Troy" version is not worth the time. The 1956 epic movie tells it all much better. Watch that instead and save yourself some wasted hours.
If you really want to see how mythic characters and events can be believably portrayed I suggest you read Edison Marshall's novel "Earth Giant" which relates the twelve labors of Hercules as if they occurred in reality. Or Henry Treece's "Jason" which recounts the voyage of the Argonauts to Colchis.
This "Helen of Troy" version is not worth the time. The 1956 epic movie tells it all much better. Watch that instead and save yourself some wasted hours.
Big, big book, following Helen of Troy from her legendary birth through the courtship that ended with her suitors vowing to not contend with one another, then on through the romance with Paris, credited with the Trojan War. The book does not end with the fall of Troy, but follows Helen back to Sparta and through the rest of her life.
