So I recently reread The Song of Achilles and this reminded me that I read another myth retelling with a similar name many years ago. Since I only had vague memories of what exactly happened in this story, I decided to give it another try. Long story short, The Song of Achilles is the superior version by far. The Song of Troy could have been a somewhat decent retelling if it hadn't been for the abysmal portrayal of all the female characters. The novel is told from the perspective of many different characters and yet there are only two female characters that get at least one chapter from their point if view (Helen and Briseis). What's worse is that none of these women have any agency, things only happen TO them and not BECAUSE of them. They seem to be there mainly to praise a man when he loves them and complain when he doesn't. Personally I found the portrayal of Iphigeneia, though not a pov character, to be the worst. Pretty disappointing since the author herself is a woman.

4.25/5
J'ai énormément aimé ce livre qui retrace de façon traditionnelle la guerre de Troie en restant fidèle au mythe dans l'ensemble.
Néanmoins:
-je relève quelques longueurs (bien caractéristique de la guerre qui a duré 10 ans finalement) avec certains chapitres vraiment longs
-après avoir lu "Le silence des vaincues" ou la parole est donnée aux femmes et particulièrement à Briséis, difficile de la retrouver dans le rôle de femme éperdument amoureuse de son ravisseur (meme si évidemment on préfère qu'elle ne se fasse pas maltraiter/v*oler etc...)
-je ne suis pas sûre qu'il convienne à quelqu'un qui n'a jamais rien lu concernant la guerre de Troie au vu du nombre d'informations et de personnages dans ce récit
Malgré tout c'est un très bon livre qui reste assez dynamique avec les changements de point de vu, même si ça manque à mon sens cruellement de point de vu féminin qui auraient été très pertinents parfois

Writing from various characters’ viewpoints, both Greek and Trojan, may have meant to swing our sympathies from Greece to Troy, and back again, but, because of how the author wrote them, I came away not caring for any of the characters. It’s a major flaw in an otherwise satisfying novel. I need someone to root for.

I suppose having read Gemmell’s trilogy about Troy only months ago, I couldn’t help but compare the two. In Gemmell’s books, Aeneas was the obvious hero, though there were others. Here, he thinks only of himself, grasping for the crown of Troy. I suppose I prefer the Latin tradition of this character, as opposed to the Greek, which is what the author uses.

So while, yes, Paris and Helen and self-indulgent, the same can be said of all of the major characters here. The story couldn’t help but be interesting, and I did like that we get both sides’ stories, but would it have hurt to have at least one major character who thought just a little bit less of himself?

[2.5]

i havw so much to say about this book

i typed out a whole rant about the very little pros in comparison to my long list of cons but decided to just take it all away

odysessus and diomedes are the only redemption in this book. don’t read it for the portrayal of characters like helen, achilles, patroclus, hektor, anyone.

ur gonna be disappointed lol

also TW: lipless achilles and it’s one thousand references

the story of the Trojan war told in a manner more akin to today`s readers. so if you don`t have the stomach for The Iliad this could act as a nice substitute.

it is epic in scope (as it should be) beggining with the young years of the many important characters, and then after many stories set them off to the war. the war in itself is also long and with many tribulations but this is not a complaint, since the book delivers what the movie failed to.

also of interest you should see that each chapter is narrated by a different character, this is pretty engaging and keeps you hooked since you wanna know how some of these characters lived all the classic events of the Trojan War

I would like to start out by saying, when I write a review on historical fiction, I don't like to reveal much about the story line. I want the reader to enjoy and discover the story line for themselves, if study history, legends based on history I want you to form your own opinions. That's the fun and challenge in reading historical fiction, discovering what is fiction and what is based on historical events.

This is a book about the face that launched a thousand ships. And why did the Greek kings go to war over a woman, or were they using this an excuse for war.

This is a good book with a little different story line on the characters from Homers account. All the characters are there. Agamemnon, Menelaus who is Helens husband, Paris and Helen. Achilles and Hector, Ajax, Odysseus and many more. The story is told from the perspective of the participants by chapter. The story flows rather well, there is a lot of action and battle scenes. My favorite two are the single combat confrontations of Hector vs. Ajax, and Hector and Achilles. I really like how the author portrays Hector,. In the book Achilles says that Hector is a pure warrior.

Over all this is a good book and a must read for the enthusiasts of the Trojan War.

Greatly enjoyed this novel!
Being a hardcore fan of McCullough already, I've expected much and, surprisingly, I got more.
As expected she once again succeeded in bringing to life a very ancient, and mainly forgotten, world of a legend, but she did more than this for me with the ever-changing, first-person point of view.
Deserves 5 stars in my opinion :)

It has been a few years since I read this book, but I do remember that I love this story. I actually happened upon this book by accident and decided it was worth reading after having a quick browse of the first "chapter" - I had never read a book by this author nor did I know a great deal about the Trojan War.

I was sucked in to this tale, and loved reading it from each characters point of view. In fact I have just decided I'm going to pull it from the bookshelf and read it again!!

Una novela que explica la guerra de Troya con mucha precisión, bien documentada y que ofrece una gran perspectiva de la historia gracias al uso de una narración coral. Los personajes están bien caracterizados, el tema de la mitología está muy bien integrado y la ambientación está muy trabajada. Aún así, la trama es intencionadamente previsible y tiene poco ritmo porque no hay sorpresas, por lo que no engancha. Está bien, pero a mí no me ha conquistado.

Reseña completa: http://paseandoentrepaginas.blogspot....

"Don't blame the Gods for you own failings, High King! The weakness lies in us. We are mortals."

Un gran bel libro su una delle storie più famose dell'epoca greca. La cosa che mi è piaciuta di più è stata la possibilità di leggere gli eventi da entrambe le parti, per avere un'idea delle ragioni greche (le più note) e di quelle troiane.
L'autrice prende spunto da alcune correnti di pensiero sugli eventi della guerra di Troia meno conosciute (almeno per me).
A partire dall'aspetto dei personaggi (mi vengono in mente Menelao e Odisseo) fino alla rilettura di alcuni eventi.
La cosa che mi ha lasciato quasi basita (e che mi ha fatto quasi abbassare le stelline) è la relazione Achille/Patroclo/Briseide.
Per chi come me ha letto e ha amato "The Song of Achilles" sarà quasi uno shock leggere di questo Achille quasi indifferente a Patroclo (si ok, ad un certo punto sono amanti, ma poi arriva Briseide e ciao ciao, Patroclo). Lasciando da parte "The Song of Achilles", anche qui ho un ricordo leggermente diverso di tutta la storia, ma forse mi sbaglio.
Un'altra cosa che mi è piaciuta meno è la quasi assenza di Cassandra... avrei preferito vederla di più.

Menzione speciale per il mio preferito, Odisseo, l'unico con un cervello e capace di farlo funzionare. Si assume, purtroppo per lui, la responsabilità di fare cose giudicate poco nobili ma così facendo porta a casa il risultato (peraltro non sapevo mica che aveva una relazione con il buon Diomede!).

Comunque è un gran bel libro ed è scorrevole, il che non guasta mai. Lo consiglio!

I was moved to tears by this book, and felt ridiculous shedding them. I knew who would live and die, and exactly how it all turned out. That's McCullough's genius, though. She gives us all the little details, history books leave out, that make us feel for, and in some instances love, or hate a character. Everyone knows Odysseus was brilliant, but we don't think about how much that brilliance would have cost him. Achilles was brave, but he could have been sweet, kind and fair alongside his ruthless warring.

I love the way McC explains all the mythic/mystic mumbo jumbo with logical ideas that don't necessarily negate the intervention of the Gods, just...leave room for another explanation. I have always been a fan of Greek and Roman mythology, and even as a child, I knew it wasn't true, but always felt the legends could have happened in just the way they were described...just with mortal maneuvering, as opposed to immortal. She drives this point home, and is smart enough to explain things in a realistic way, without straying from the myth.

As I read, I would often be struck by how ruthless or cruel some act would seem. It was in perfect keeping with the time of the story, but because McC is so good at actually putting me IN her setting, I wouldn't realize how foreign it was until I was ready to stop reading. That's a great talent. Not only can she consistently suspend my disbelief, but she continually has me accepting, as the natural course of things, actions that would sicken me in life. She has me rooting for characters that commit acts I should find appalling, and relishing their acts of revenge that should actually be, not only disturbing, but down right disgusting.

I think this would be a great companion piece to The Iliad. I've read The Iliad, but know it can be intimidating and even dry for the young readers that are required to read it. If they were given this book as well, I think they would actually relish the experience of The Iliad. This book could never replace that classic, and I don't think that's what McC is going for. I think she is just trying to flesh out characters we have all heard of, but don't know well enough to care for. I fell in love with as many as I grew to hate. She certainly touched my heart and soul.

Troijan laulu oli todella mielenkiintoista luettavaa, sillä vaikka olen tietenkin kuullut Troijan sodasta, minulla ei ollut kovin vahvaa käsitystä siitä, mitä oikeasti tapahtui. Tämä myös avasi sodan taustoja kiinnostavasti. Kirja antoi tutuille nimille, kuten Akhilleukselle, Odysseukselle ja Helenalle, kasvot.