The Memoirs of Helen of Troy

2.5-rounded down.

I was pumped up for this novel, a chance to see the Trojan War from Helen’s point of view. What did she believe really happened? Was she abducted or did she go willingly? Was she happy being the most beautiful woman in the world or was that a curse for her? Did she love any of these men, and if so which one and why? What does one do when the gods themselves conspire against you? What I got was some implausible answers and a bit of a disappointment.

One of the difficulties of this book, for me, was that Elyot couldn’t seem to make up her own mind about how Helen felt or what was happening. She wavered between describing the gods as something created in the image of a man and something all-powerful that directed the show more lives of men. Imaginary or real? You have to decide they are one or the other and you definitely have to make your main character believe or disbelieve. Helen seems to believe when it is convenient (OK, I know some modern day Christians I could say that about), but it matters if you are billing this character as the illegitimate daughter of Zeus.

There is the same ambivalence about Helen’s feelings for her husband, Menelaus. He is given almost a split personality, which veers to too evil in his evil moments and inexplicable in his softer ones. It is no easy task to take a well-known personage, such as Helen of Troy, and make them seem new while at the same time being consistent with the history. I have seen it done, but Elyot misses the mark for me.

Finally, Helen is seen to adore her children but also to desert them almost thoughtlessly. You really cannot have both. Her reasons for her actions were almost always explained with sex, but sex only explains some of the urges in life and those are generally fleeting. I like to think that a mother’s love might trump her desires. If her desires are her driving force, then she must be painted as a negligible mother. You can’t have everything both ways.

In short, this book that should have everything: love, hate, war, jealousy, immortality and history, has nothing. I will stick with Homer and Virgil. show less

This novel was not to my taste! Sometimes too melodramatic, sometimes saccharine and much too filled with sex scenes, badly written at that. It was too much of a departure from the Trojan War story for me. I think people would be much better off reading the original Iliad and Odyssey. Helen made herself the center of the world; self-absorbed and bragging how SHE influenced the main incidents of the war--e.g., only through her submitting to Achilles was Priam able to recover Hector's body; SHE influenced the Achilles heel incident.

Only for those who are interested in all retellings of Helen's story, no matter how far-fetched.

I picked up this book on the bargain shelf at my local bookstore, so I wasn't expecting great things. But I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I was a little put off by the short length of the book, only because I like longer, engaging stories, but thought a short, light read might be well worth it.

This is not a "great" book, but it is a good book and I did enjoy reading it. I liked that the gods played some part in the book, though I would have enjoyed a little more. I found that the first part of the story was the most enjoyable part, up until Paris arrives. I didn't find their love for each other particularly believable, seeing as it seemed to be based purely on lust, which never went away. Although, she was the most beautiful show more woman in the world, and never lost her youthful beautiful looks, so maybe that is possible. Hector and Andromache do play a part in this book, but I really would have liked more about them. In fact, it has inspired me to look for books written from either Hector or Andromache's point of view.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light, short read. It's worth reading once, but I do not think I will pick it up again. But if you are interested in Helen of Troy, then read this story, as well as Helen of Troy by Margaret George. This book is definately aimed toward women readers. show less

Although I couldn't put this down I wouldn't rate it as being a truly great book. The writing was well done, but the story itself was far fetched, tended to drag at times and also skipped years of Helen's life with the turn of a page. A plethora of mythological figures were part of the cast of characters. Too many in fact to make the story even slightly believable. A shame really as the writing itself was good, it was just the storytelling itself was lacking.

Η ιστορία της ωραίας Ελένης μέσα από ένα άλλο πρίσμα, μέσα από τη δική της ματιά.