Book Review: “Troy” by Adele Geras

Review of “Troy” by Adele Geraz. Review By: Hailey Shoemaker

I was never into reading History books or Historical Fiction stories until about a year ago. That’s when I read History my mind started to form it into it’s own love story, soap opera, or young adult novel. All of the sudden, History just wasn’t facts about yesterday; they were stories about people like us today.

Now, I’m not going to lie, I didn’t just stumble along this book; it itself didn’t pop out and grab my interest. There’s a movie that my family watches frequently called “Troy” which has Brad Pitt and other hot actors. The story–and the shirtless six-packed men–in the movie caught and held my attention. I wanted to know more about the Troy vs. Sparta conflict. When searching for a book to read online, I immediately discovered this one. And even though it is titled the same as the move of my interest, they are clearly not the same story.

In the movie, you get to know more about what goes through the men hero’s lives and how this battle affects them. There is no good and bad, it just is. Once in the movie, in an almost showdown between Achilles, great Spartan/Greek warrior, and Prince Hector, eldest Prince of Troy and magnificent leader, Prince Hector said, “In a thousand years the dust from our bones shall be gone.” Achilles responded, “Yes, Prince, but our names shall remain.” It is portrayed that Prince Paris, the younger brother of Prince Hector, is completely and totally in love with Queen Helen of Sparta and would do anything to be with her. Paris and Helen are in love and forever will be in love. Hector is completely in love with his wife, Andromache, and his son, Astyanax, and would do any and everything to protect and love them. Their father, King Priam, is a man of honor and doesn’t approve of Paris’s choices to bring Helen, but would “fight a thousand wars before seeing his son die.” Achilles’ cousin, Patroklos, went with Achilles and the soldiers to Troy. One day, when Achilles was refusing to fight–“[I will not fight] until Agamemnon groans to have Achilles back”–Patroklos, behind his cousin’s back, put on Achilles armor and led the men into battle, posing as Achilles. Prince Hector goes up against him, thinking it Achilles. After he has killed Patroklos dead, he removes his helmet and finds that it is not Achilles. After Achilles finds out that Hector has killed his cousin, he become overwhelmingly upset and furious. He takes off to Troy, and screams at the Gates of Troy for Prince Hector to come down and face him. When Prince Hector comes, Achilles kills him and then ties him by the ankles and carries him off on his carriage. King Priam is horrified, and later that night goes to Achilles, and begs at his feet and kisses his hands, he wants his son to have the proper burial ceremonies. Achilles is touched, and with his tears, gives the King Prince Hector’s body. When the Spartans and Greek “present” the Trojans with the Horse of Troy and it is welcomed into the castle, later that night the Spartans and Greeks come out of the horse and began to terrorize the Trojans. Prince Hector before his death had briefed his wife, Andromache, on an escape from Troy and into the mountains. Andromache escapes with Helen, Astyanax, and some other women and young men. Prince Paris stays to go and find his cousin, who was also given back to the Trojans by Achilles the day Prince Hector’s body was picked up. But Prince Paris finds Achilles with his cousin, and despite his cousin’s begging to not harm Achilles, Paris shoots him in the ankle, ending his life. Prince Paris did not know that his cousin and Achilles were lovers. And Achilles’ death is what ends the movie.

However, things in the book are much different. The main aspects that makes things different are: the involvement of Greek Religions and gods and goddesses, the variety of people the story is told through, and the perspective of which the story is told. In the movie, there is a mention of the gods and goddesses, but in the book, mortals see gods and goddesses walking around like normal people but do not remember the encounters soon after they are over. It is the gods and goddesses in the story that affected the battle; they wrote it and made sure it turned out that way. In the movie, you see the two different sides of the story; you see Achilles, and Agamemnon, and the Greeks and Spartans, along with Prince Hector, Prince Paris, and the other Trojans. Well, in the book you only get the side of the Trojans–one disappointment. The perspective in the movie is mainly through the heroes, or the men; the perspective in the book is through the women, royalty or otherwise–something that tended to also be a disappointment on occasion. In the movie, you see a short time.

It makes it seem as if the story and battle lasts three months at the most, but in the book the battle has been going on for ten years. A different perspective is offered. The Trojans used to flourish with their farming and herding, but now that they’re restricted to mainly the inside of their kingdom, they are no where near as wealthy as they once were. So some women in the story do believe that this battle was not only over getting Queen Helen of Sparta back for Menalaus, her previous husband and Agamemnon’s brother; but in the movie it was also clear that Agamemnon was war hungry, not just interested in getting Menalaus his wife back. [NOTE: In the movie Paris did go against Menalaus, but gave up half way through. That’s when Hector killed Menalaus and Agamemnon ordered his men to attack again.] These women also new of Agamemnon’s crave for owning the world, but they also thought his interest in Troy and everything political also came into play. And I’m not going to pretend to know anything about the politics and stuff, so we’ll leave that there. But the ten year battle has shorted Troy of it’s food and has caused many, many deaths. As mentioned, the gods and goddesses manage to stir things up in Troy as they themselves get tired of the world. You get an appearance from Poseidon, the God of Water; Zeus, the King of Gods; Ares, the God of War; and Hephaestus, the God of Metal-Working. But the God and Goddess that have a rather engaging roll in the story, are Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, and Eros, God of Sexual Love. Two sisters are the two that probably carry the whole story. Xanthe and Marpessa. Marpessa is a handmaiden to Helen who is considered the most beautiful woman in the world and also has the ability to see Gods walking around and talking and remember it. Xanthe is kind and reserved and takes care of wounded soldiers in The Blood Room. It is in the Blood Room that Xanthe is tending to a young Alastor and she is struck with one of Eros’ arrows, which makes her have a strong sexual attraction to Alastor. Alastor was struck with an arrow too, but it’s not Xanthe he’s attracted to…It’s her sister, Marpessa. Marpessa is put under Aphrodite’s spell, however, the spell of real love, not sexual love. Then you mix in a best girl friend and another guy, things only get more complicated. Xanthe also helps tend to Astyanax and Andromache, too, when her husband dies.

Disappointments in the Book:

1. The mystic, majesty of Achilles is taken away.
2. The deep love between Paris and Helen is, too, removed.
3. Other deaths and tales in the movie were removed or told differently.

Satisfactions in the Book:

1. The love between characters, well-known or otherwise, is stepped up a notch.
2. The inner part that Gods and Goddesses play adds to the drama and majesty of the story.
3. Perhaps a more hard truth is told in the book and the reader is to deal with that.

 Overall, “Troy” written by Adele Geraz get’s three of five stars. Overall, “Troy” directed by Wolfgang Petersen get’s five of five stars.

 

Things to Note:

• Later legends that Achilles was invulnerable in all of his body except for hisheel. Since he died due to an arrow shot into his heel, the “Achilles’ heel” has come to mean a person’s principal weakness…When Achilles was born Thetis tried to make him immortal by dipping him in the river Styx. However, he was left vulnerable at the part of the body she held him by, his heel http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achilles
• It is said that special armor was made for Achilles by the God Hephaestus.
• It is also said that Achilles’ downfall was when he fell in love.
• Those of you who are interested in stories like these which involve Greek Gods and Goddesses, check out the Percy Jackson series.
• Those of you into the Vampire/Twilight Cliché’, and read The House Of Night Series, note that their Goddess, Nyx, is the Greek Goddess of Night, so the vampires in the story truly follow Greek Religion. And those that haven’t read The HON Series, should!

What To Read Next?

• The Memoirs of Helen of Troy: A Novel, http://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Helen-Troy-Novel/dp/0307338606/ref=pd_cp_b_1
• Achilles, http://www.amazon.com/Achilles-Mike-Chapman/dp/0967608058
• Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Jackson_%26_the_Olympians
• The Library of Greek Mythology, http://about.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/isbn=9780199536320/search=Library+Greek+Mythology/st=product/sv=title
• The House of Night Series, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Night

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