Schitterende (na)vertelling over de Trojaanse oorlog, aanloop en verder verloop van het leven van Helena nadien. Warmhartig verteld. Een sterke aanrader voor wie houdt van de Griekse mythologie. In één ruk uitgelezen! ( )

10. [Helen of Troy] by [Margaret George] A retelling with embellishments of Homer's epic, The Illiad. The story really focused on Helen, Paris, and Menelaus. As I find with myths, I really needed a chart of who's who and who is a god and who is mortal. This was one of the better. George always tells a good story. 636 pages ( )

The story of Helen of Troy is one of those tales that everyone sort of knows generally without actually reading or watching it first-hand, as if we've taken it in via cultural osmosis (I've found the same to be true with the Star Wars movies and Moby Dick). We all somehow know that Helen was a pretty lady whose "face launched a thousand ships", and she caused a huge war involving some trickery called the Trojan horse. Pretty basic, but isn't it cool that a myth that built up around real events and real people who lived 3000 years ago, on a totally different continent, is still in our cultural consciousness? The answer is f yes.

What I liked best about the book was how it completely drew me into its world. The amount of detail in describing the places, the people, and their actions created a convincing reality for the story, and it felt good to just let go and lose myself in it. I've been reading a lot of non-fiction lately, so this was a good book for getting outside that mindset and do some reading just for the pure pleasure of a story.

Another thing I really liked about this story was finding out how many famous myths and heroes are connected to it, and through it to each other. It was like all these other myths were half of a puzzle's pieces, and the story of Helen of Troy is the other half that helps bind them all together into one.

The thing that drove me nuts about this book was the abundance of prophesies, and the fact that people would seem to fear them and yet act surprised when they came to pass. If they go to the trouble of seeking out prophesies, then why don't they believe them and accept that their actions can't alter anything? Also, way too many people in the book had prophetic powers, it sort of kills the magic of second sight if most people have it. ( )

Well, this book was great at first but I struggled through about 200 pages in the middle of the story. It took me forever to get through. Great story, just a bit too long. I gave a third star for the wonderful ending. ( )

Ésta es la historia de Helena de Troya, la mujer más bella del mundo. Una mujer premiada y castigada por los dioses con un don tan único y virtuoso como maldito y terrible: una belleza incomparable, capaz de provocar la mejor locura de los hombre, pero también la peor cordura. Hija de un dios, esposa de reyes, amada y odiada por todos, Helena vivirá desde pequeña y para siempre sometida a la mirada escrutadora de amigo y enemigos, sólo por ser quien es, por ser como es, por poseer el rostro que provocará una de las guerras más famosas y legendarias de la historia de la humanidad: la guerra de Troya. De la mano y la voz de la misma Helena, en esta novela conocemos su verdadera historia; su punto de vista de la leyenda; su niñez, marcada por las funestas profecías cernidas sobre su familia, que la obligan a vivir oculta del resto del mundo; su temprano matrimonio con Menelao, tras la competencia entre cientos de pretendientes; su historia de amor y traición con Paris; el asedio de Troya; su encuentro con personajes inolvidables: Aquiles, Agamenón, Príamo, Odiseo, Héctor... La venganza, el deseo, la ira, los celos, el amor, la muerte y la soledad plagan la vida de Helena, y Margaret George, maestra en estas lides, plasma en este fascinante libro todas las contradicciones de un personaje de leyenda.