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Linda's Reviews > Troy
Troy (Stephen Fry's Great Mythology, #3)
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Stephen Fry's retellings of the Greek myths and epics resonate with the educator, parent, and hopefully, someday grandparent in me. While I thoroughly enjoyed Mythos and Heroes, Troy is my favorite in the series thus far. Fry uses Homer, Ovid, and Virgil as his sources. In addition to the Illiad, the book includes the stories of The Judgement of Paris, the Birth of Achilles, the Abduction of Helen, the Trojan Horse, and the sack of Troy.
Fry's writing is lively and witty. He captures the nuance of character and the pathos of war. I listened to him read the audio version of the text and was transported in time and place. At times, the listening experience was magical.
As I listened, I kept thinking about the text's potential for reaching young adults and expanding their interest in reading in general and in the classics. Unfortunately, it's been close to twenty years since I last read Homer in the original. Nevertheless, Troy has inspired me to revisit Homer. Does anyone have recommendations for new translations or oral readings of the original??
Fry's writing is lively and witty. He captures the nuance of character and the pathos of war. I listened to him read the audio version of the text and was transported in time and place. At times, the listening experience was magical.
As I listened, I kept thinking about the text's potential for reaching young adults and expanding their interest in reading in general and in the classics. Unfortunately, it's been close to twenty years since I last read Homer in the original. Nevertheless, Troy has inspired me to revisit Homer. Does anyone have recommendations for new translations or oral readings of the original??
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Reading Progress
July 9, 2020
– Shelved
July 9, 2020
– Shelved as:
to-read
September 21, 2021
–
Started Reading
October 1, 2021
–
Finished Reading
October 6, 2021
– Shelved as:
greece
October 6, 2021
– Shelved as:
fiction
October 6, 2021
– Shelved as:
ancient-world
October 6, 2021
– Shelved as:
classics
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Yun
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Oct 06, 2021 03:51PM
Great review, Linda! So glad you enjoyed and this inspired you! I haven't read Homer, but wish you the best in your revisit! :)
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I know that Emily Wilson is currently working on a translation of "Iliad." Her "Odyssey" was astonishingly good. As for oral readings of the original, you're definitely on your own! I'm impressed as hell that you were able to read Homer in the original! Well done!
Glad you liked it. I love Stephen Fry. (Among other things he's done is his excellent audiobook of the Sherlock Holmes stories). But this book frustrated me.
I think my son got into Greek classics in 7th grade when he took Latin....had a fantastic teacher. He took Latin all through high school . He graduated university with a double major, one being a linguistics major. These stories can capture the youthful mind! Good luck with finding other translations. Good for you to be cognizant of these writings as fodder for the youth!
Yun wrote: "Great review, Linda! So glad you enjoyed and this inspired you! I haven't read Homer, but wish you the best in your revisit! :)"Thanks, Yun.
Bruce wrote: "I know that Emily Wilson is currently working on a translation of "Iliad." Her "Odyssey" was astonishingly good. As for oral readings of the original, you're definitely on your own! I'm impressed a..."Thanks so much for the recommendation. I was browsing the Audible catalog, and I found Clare Danes reading the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey and Derek Jacobi reading Robert Fagles translation of the Illiad. Reading along with them could be a good way to get through the winter months.
Michael wrote: "Glad you liked it. I love Stephen Fry. (Among other things he's done is his excellent audiobook of the Sherlock Holmes stories). But this book frustrated me."Thanks, Michael. I love Sherlock Holmes. My Dad used to read the stories to me when I was a kid. He would make a game of it, have me track the clues, and try to figure it out. I will check this out.
Barbara wrote: "I think my son got into Greek classics in 7th grade when he took Latin....had a fantastic teacher. He took Latin all through high school . He graduated university with a double major, one being a l..."Thanks, Barbara. Your son was lucky to have such an inspiring middle school teacher.
Linda: a huge value-add to the Fry audiobook are these marvelous introductions he wrote for each section.
Michael wrote: "Linda: a huge value-add to the Fry audiobook are these marvelous introductions he wrote for each section."Sounds great! Thanks so much.
Glad you enjoyed it Linda! I loved Mythos and can't wait to listen to Heroes next.
Xavier wrote: "Glad you enjoyed it Linda! I loved Mythos and can't wait to listen to Heroes next."Thanks, Xavier. I hope you enjoy it.
Great review, Linda! I’ve read Mythos, but haven’t got to the next two books. Thanks for reminding me to keep going!
Jasmine wrote: "Great review, Linda! I’ve read Mythos, but haven’t got to the next two books. Thanks for reminding me to keep going!"Thanks, Jasmine. I hope you enjoy them!
Linda, I'm almost finished listening to "Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller. The audio narrator is wonderful. However, I'm not sure if it's for young adults, as there is some light erotica between Achilles and Patroclus, which I found a bit of a surprise. Other than that part, it's riveting. Just thought I'd pass that along....
Thanks, Barbara. That was thoughtful of you. I read Song of Achilles and think it would be a great YA read..
If you are still looking for recommendations I found Fagles translation of the Iliad to be very good and struck me as more authentic than some others. (I don't think it's as well written as Pope but seems closer to Homer from what I gather)
Thanks Connor. I actually listened to Derek Jacobi read Fageles translation of the Illiad. It was an amazing experience.
Thanks for pushing me toward this book, Linda. I just started it and I'm hooked!
HBalikov wrote: "Thanks for pushing me toward this book, Linda. I just started it and I'm hooked!"Glad to hear you are enjoying it!
Couldnt have put it better!
Sunita wrote: "Couldnt have put it better!"Thanks, Sunita.
Thanks, Violeta. Your opinion matters to me.
Linda, thanks for your thoughtful review. I am an inveterate reader and collector of good translations of The Iliad and my top four, in order, include translations by: (1) Emily Wilson; (2) Peter Green; (3) Robert Fagles; and (4) Caroline Alexander. The Iliad is an "island book" for sure (i.e., stuck on an island with only one book), and a timeless tale of the human condition. I hope this helps, and happy reading.
In addition to having now published her Iliad (good Audiobook version read by Audra Macdonald) and given some good talks about it on YouTube, Emily Wilson is now writing her own fiction about it, a book of short stories based on ancient myths about the Trojan War that are not included or only briefly mentioned in Homer's epics.
