Customer Reviews

War at Troy

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Lindsay Clarke transforms Homer's epic and immortal Iliad and related stories into an easier to consume and pleasurable to read literary form in his most recent work, War at Troy. Within this transformation he removes aspects of the Iliad that did not deal specifically with the events leading up to, occurring during, or as a result of the epic conflict. This process has produced a trim, clear, satisfyingly paced, and dramatic version of the personalities and events of the most epic of conflicts. None of this pacing and literary inflection come at the expense of detail, Clarke is meticulous refreshingly intent on delivering not just an entertaining but an accurate version. He succeeds.

Within the pages of War at Troy Lindsay Clarke further distills the conflict into a form focusing almost entirely on the human drama. Save for their role as instigators and agitators most of the whims and more importantly the occasional direct action of the deities of the Grecian pantheon, which featured prominently in the Iliad, are removed in favor of focusing on the events of Greeks and Trojans themselves. This ever-so-slight shift of focus delivers a story that is less fairy tale and more history.

Most modern readers are unaware that the Trojan War is covered in numerous poems aside from the Iliad many of them difficult to locate and read. Lindsay Clarke has done the work for you; he has correlated this information into one concise, entertaining, and reasonably accurate depiction of the events. His writing is at times insidiously evocative and rises to the occasion of the difficult task of living up to expectations of the one of the greatest epic poems of all time.

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Lindsay Clarke takes on a daring assingment with "The War at Troy." By taking on Greek myths that have been the cornerstone of "Western Civ" since, well, the creation of "Western Civ," you had best be prepared for some intense criticism.

From an academic perspective, Clarke has done a magnificent job of placing the Trojan War, most widely known to modern audiences through Homer's "Iliad," in a logical context. One of the problems of "The Iliad" is that it begins in the tenth year of the war, and there's not a lot of time spent on back story. Clarke's story of the Trojan War kicks off during the formative years of the conflict, and we get to see a lot of the world that Paris and Helen brought to the brink of destruction with passionate affair.

In marked contrast to the recent summer blockbuster, "Troy," Clarke still finds room for the Gods in "The War at Troy." Paris is forced to choose "the fairest" between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, and his choice of Aphrodite casts his doom. On a personal note, I was hoping that Clarke would get deeper into how Athena, supposedly the Goddess of Wisdom, was able to be out-debated by the sexpot Aphrodite. The Goddess of Love makes one heck of a sales pitch, but shouldn't Athena have been able to anticipate Aphrodite's tactics and trump them somehow? Obviously not, or we'd have no story . . . but I digress.

With the Gods taking generally a back seat in this story (Zeus barely factors in at all), Clarke spends a lot of time putting the Trojan War into the "real world." We learn a lot about how the Argive spent the first nine years of the war (it wasn't all spent on the Plains of Troy), the political scheming of Odysseus that bound so many Argives to Menelaus's cause, and the young life of Achilles. These are all strong points, and Clarke's deviations from established myths seem appropriate (for example, the Centaurs who raise Achilles are not half-men, half-horse, but instead barbarians who spend a lot of time with horses, consequently gaining an equine odor).

Clarke's novel only really stumbles when he gets to the final year of the war. Despite all the storytelling that has gone before, we still don't know that much about Hector, the most noble of the Trojans. Instead, we know a great deal about the craven Paris, but I was hoping to have a better picture of the Trojan hero rather than the Trojan coward. Similarly, while we spent a lot of time with Achilles as a child, we really don't know that much about him as an adult and his Myrmidons. Clarke "tells" us that Achilles is a mighty warrior, but doesn't really give us all that much meat to digest on that front prior to the war.

While Clarke drops some delicious hints of future events (Odysseus on several occasions pines for his home and wife in Ithaca, having no idea of his travails to come, Cassandra occasionally pops up with unheeded prophecies, etc.), but the novel occasionally grinds under some awkward prose. For example, Hector offers up this tooth-grinding line, "He (meaning Paris) freely concedes that his actions is the cause of this great quarrel, and has no wish to see many good men die needlessly on his account." Yeesh. And I wish I could say that this was the only passage that abused the ear, but unfortunately there are more.

Clarke is no Bernard Cornwell, much less Cormac McCarthy, when it comes to describing the battlefield. He does so in a workmanlike way, but there are few passages in "The War at Troy" that set the heart to pounding. Indeed, his romantic scenes are better, but still do not reach any fantastic heights. This wouldn't be a huge problem (he's good, not great), but again, he's writing about one of the fundamental stories in Western literature, and the bar is set pretty high.

The only emotion Clarke nails is anguish. This is important in a story of war, loss and betrayal. But it would have helped if Clarke's range extended to other emotions as well.

All in all, "The War at Troy" is a good read if you're looking to flesh out your understanding of "The Iliad" and the Greek myths that surround it. Clarke's scholarship is much better than his prose, and while "The War at Troy" rarely sings, it does

does tell a darn good story.

A worthy read for fans of Greek myth, to be sure.

When I was a child my father used to enthrall me with Bullfinch's Mythology, a book that brought together all the Greek myths (amongst others) and became my night-time reading stories. Heroes and Gods abounded, romance and war filled the childish imagination and it was a delight to hear. What Lindsay Duncan has done is tantamount to the same thing. She has taken the Greek and Trojan legend of Troy and, in a more prosaic style, rewritten down Homer's epic for a modern generation.

Simple, but genius and I can't think why no one has done it before.

As such, whilst there is nothing new in the story other than to give us more detail of the protagonists heritage, it is retold with a flowing style that breathes the kind of life into these myths that Hollywood is doing with its current round of sword and sandals films.

We open with the parentage stories of the great Illiad heroes, of Peleus and Thetis, Telamon, Priam, Hesione et al before moving swiftly into the infamous Paris contest, the Golden Apple and the three vainglorious Goddesses, Athena, Hera and Aphrodite. Here, over a small contest does a cursed man (who's father Priam could not bear to see murdered on the prophecies of Cassandra) set in motion a chain of events that has resounded through history - the Trojan War.

Clarke breathes real life into the Argive Princes, Odysseus, Menelaus, Palamedes, Achilles, Patroclus, Ajax - all names that echo through history - giving the reader a palpable sense of empathy with each of them. In here we have Achilles overbearing contempt for his King, Agamemmnon, Odysseus' cunning mind, Ajax's heroic directness all of which are pitted against the Trojans. Paris, a devotee to Aphrodite is given a starring role (Hector is not - in direct contrast to the latest Brad Pitt effort) and Clarke spends much of his prose giving us a real sense of destiny and fate with his stealing of Helen and their eventual fateful despair as Troy falls and Menelaus ends up sitting at his wife's bedside. The battles are majestic and epic in their scope, the intrigue crafted with skill, the characterisation deliberate, painstakingly drawn and a credit to Homer and the story is retold in a manner that honours the craft of the original.

Lindsay Clarke has repainted The Illiad for a modern audience in a manner that is breaktaking at times, done with a touch of humilty and in a grandiose style. In taking on a new rendition of one literature's greatest texts, he has opened himself to failure against the higest standard and, whilst one cannot better the Iliad, he has not done himself and his audience a disservice in making the attempt.

Read it.

A new telling of the old Helen of Troy saga, with god and warrior heroes. Even if you know the tale this is a great retelling of the ancient classic. HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

If you're unfamiliar with the various stories surrounding the ancestors and players in The Trojan War, you might find this book a readable aggregator of the characters and myths. I ended up skimming most of it because I knew the myths and Clarke added nothing new to the story. This book seemed the antithesis of Gemmell, who completely rewrote the War and well-known characters in a way that almost parodied itself and had me nearly throwing it against the wall in fury. Clarke is very conservative and, IMO, unimaginative. Hoping to find something in the happy middle one of these days.

I hate to call this a modern-English, novel-style retelling of a classic poem: such a description implies inferiority and hack writing, as if its merely written expressly for those too unintelligent to read the actual poem. "The War at Troy" is far more than this. Rather than an "Iliad for Dummies", this book is a fantastic work of literature in its own right. Excellent writing and a strong sense of narration makes what is, in its original form, an oftentimes convoluted plot with a enormous cast of characters and locations, into a very flowing and beautifully clear tale. Clarke retains the original feel of the story and writes in such a way that it feels simultaneously timeless, yet compelling for modern readers.

A highly recommended book, it will make a proud addition to anyone's collection.

Of the four books I've read that summarize the entire Trojan War saga, Lindsay Clarke's "The War at Troy" is the best written and the most detailed. As another reviewer points out, the prose can be a bit clunky at times. But Clarke has gone to great pains to present the key stories of this saga in a manner that is true to their original sources. And at times, he really rises to the occasion. His account of the sacrifice of Iphigeneia at Aulis is gripping and horrifying. And his account of King Priam's secret meeting with Achilles to claim Hector's body almost moved me to tears. It's an amazing scene that is only topped by Homer, himself. Call me a wuss, but this is what literature is all about.

If you are curious, but anxious, about reading the Iliad, the Odyssey, or the Aeneid, then try reading this book first. It provides the proper context for the epic poems, and it will familiarize you with all of the key characters and events. Then, by all means, read Homer and Virgil. Nothing has topped them in the last 3000 years. They are challenging, but well worth the effort.

I have two small complaints. The first is that that Clarke didn't provide much depth to the stories that come to us from Quintus of Smyrna (see "The War at Troy" ISBN 0760700974). But even then, he touches on most of the key events, and he provides enough detail that the story remains coherent. Secondly, the book ends during the destruction of Troy. Consequently, he omits a number of important events that immediately follow. But I see he has just published a sequel called, "The Return From Troy." I'm sure he covers these events there.

Two other titles that cover much of the same ground (and some different ground) are "The Trojan War" by Olivia Coolidge, and "A Tale of Troy" by Roger Greene. They aren't as detailed as Clarke, but they still include excellent summaries of the key Trojan War tales.

This book adequately retells the story of the Trojan war, and gives solid if traditional portrayals of the characters. It provides absolutely no historical setting and description, which was somewhat disappointing.

One major problem is Paris. I have never read or seen a Paris that I liked. I am beginning to believe that it is impossible to potray his and Helen's love story in any sympathetic manner. Paris is usually just annoying. Helen is stupid for going off with him. Someone should write a retelling where Helen got abducted, just to shake things up a bit.

The portrayal of Achilles as really a loving person who the world forced to become a killing machine was certainly unusual, but not well-developed enough. If Clarke had devoted a novel to Achilles instead of a few chapters, it might have worked better.

I liked seeing Aeneas as a major player, not an afterthought.

It seemed like Clarke couldn't make a decision about how to handle the gods in his story. Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera do appear to Paris. But Thetis, mother of Achilles, is actually a priestess and the daughter of Chiron the centaur?? Is Aeneas the son of Aphrodite or not? The unclear reality of the gods is aesthetically pleasing, but mostly it did just seem like the author was confused.

I might recomend this as an introduction to the myth surrounding the Trojan War--it provides great geneology and background. But mostly, it is just one man's uninteresting retelling.