Troy

Rating:
Summary: Greek Gold!
Review: A wonderful re-telling of the story of the Trojan War, from the perspective of the Trojans instead of the Greeks. Make the characters very human and is higly readable & interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Troy
Review: As if human beings' lives were not difficult enough, the people of Troy must suffer from the meddling and manipulations of bored gods and goddesses.

What a fabulous tale Geras has crafted in this novel. Troy, at war with the Greeks for over 10 years now, is a city imprisoned within its own walls. Each day the men go out on the plain to fight --- and their women wonder if they will ever see them alive again. Geras focuses on the women of Troy and the many struggles they have.

Xanthe is nursemaid to Hector's son and also works in the Blood Room, the place where wounded soldiers are taken. When she cares for Alastor, Eros shoots his arrow into her heart, and she falls in love. Does Alastor feel the same? Xanthe's sister, Marpessa, who works in Helen and Paris's household, is able to see the gods and goddesses, but having this ability does not prevent her from being placed in the grasp of love by Aphrodite. Iason works in Hector's stable and is much more comfortable talking with the animals than with Xanthe, whom he loves. And poor Polyxena is caught between being in love with Iason and loving Xanthe.

Meanwhile, war is raging on the plain outside the walls, and the people gather together to watch, to support one another and to cheer for their heroes. But are the soldiers in charge of their destinies, or does Mount Olympus control the fate of the war as well?

With the background of war, love, and betrayal, these four young people, along with the regular cast of characters of Troy --- Hector, Andromache, Astyanax, Helen, Paris, Odysseus, Achilles, and the gods and goddesses --- all come together in this marvelous book.

Can't remember all the facts about the Trojan War and the myriad gods and goddesses? Not to worry --- Geras gives you all the information you need to understand and enjoy the story. I recommend you start reading when you have plenty of free time --- you won't be able to put the book down.

Please note: Because of mature topics, including love and war, some material in this book may be inappropriate or objectionable for young readers.

--- Reviewed by Elizabeth Pabrinkis


Rating:
Summary: Koolies
Review: I hate to go against the barrage of praise for Geras's Troy, but I found it to be somewhat disappointing despite all the nice quotes on the jacket. As a novel, and even as a young adult novel, I feel that there is more than can be reaped from the tale than just a recital of the facts of the Trojan war and a somewhat one-dimensional love story. The pivotal points of the story have been reduced to one or two sentences, the most lengthy being only a paragraph. It seemed a little bit like a Cliff's notes with some extra adjectives thrown in. Although I have to admit the book was sometimes a pageturner when it came to the soap opera like story of the sisters, I can say that the depiction of the war could have been done better.

Rating:
Summary: Best book ever!!!!
Review: i just finished readig troy a while ago, and i think that it was really good. i liked how she told the story through the eyes of the ordinary people living in troy during the war. i also liked how she didn't completely focus on the major events that we think of when we think of the trojan war, and made up saide stories. there were some things i didn't like, though. in the beginning the author made it clear that marpessa was extremely quiet and then she doesn't talk any less that any of the characters. also, i don't like how the gods were randomly popping up, telling the charactors what was going to happen, and then having the characters forget everything that happened. i did like the part were achilles kills hector, and marpessa sees athena in the battle. i also liked the fact that ares was being seen everywhere.

in general, this was a really good book. not perfect, but good.

Rating:
Summary: Not a fast read but a great book
Review: I read this book for a young adult lit class in college and for the first time i really enjoyed the story of troy. I've always loved Greek mythology, but before this the story was just dripping with war imagry and weapons this, and armor that. This book really put a human face on it - i think girls especially will appreciate this book.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointed....
Review: I simply can't tell you how sorry I am that I cannot be one of those who raves about this book. Being a young adult myself, when I found this book in the Young Adult's section of the bookstore I was thrilled. I am sure many people can relate when I say that the Trojan War has always fascinated me. When I bought this book I couldn't wait to dive into the story.
I bought this book fully prepared to be blown away because of all the amazing reviews and awards circling it. But boy, was I disappointed. I realize that because I am young I may not yet appreciate this sort of thing but I was absolutely shocked by the...erm...shall we say...explicit material in this book. Every time I pass this book, proudly displayed in the Young Adult's section in the bookstore, I can't help wondering what some parents will think when they peer over their 11-year-old's shoulder and find them reading some of the worst parts of this book.
Now, this book is like a soap opera in print, which is not always a bad thing, and there are very many parts where the character's feelings hold the largest piece. But for some reason (maybe it's just me) I found that, although the author was writing words that described the character's feelings it all felt surface-like to me. For a book so full of emotions none of the feelings expressed felt as deep as in some other books I've read; they just felt like words on a page.
The characters in this book were all original and the author's imagination and portrayal of some of the best known characters in the Trojan War was something different and there were personalities that I enjoyed discovering. This book could make a great PG-13 or even R rated movie, but as a book it was a little disappointing.

Rating:
Summary: a classic
Review: if you know the story, or have read 'the Iliad' (Troy)...then you must read this! its a neat story. Geras highlighted characters that were hardly, or have never been mentioned within the original epic Troy. She viewed the story from the Trojan's perspective..It all ends the same way- hardly some parts of it was distoredly narrarated if you were to compare it from the original version (on how the war went on). But, the ending kind of left me hanging...what happened to Xanthe? Adromarche? Guys and Gals - This book is WAY better than the movie even if Mr. Pitt was in it!

Rating:
Summary: Side-Story in the Epic of Troy
Review: The book, Troy, was written in a very different style than I'm used to. It centers on two sisters: Xanthe and Marpessa. They live in Troy, Xanthe as nursemaid to Lord Hector's son, and Marpessa, an attendant to Helen.
The story tells of the events of the sisters' lives before and after the Greeks destroyed Troy. Some parts were very evocative, and the plot was very interestingly portrayed. Adele Geras's setting very vivid, and her characterization was well done.
Though I really disliked many parts, the story was well written, and at times leaves you to imagine what's going to happen afterwards, particulary in the end.
I'm still undecided whether this book makes my top ten list of books, but it's still a good read, and I enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: Troy
Review: Troy is a magnificent book depicting life for ancient Greeks and Romans. It required a little homework to understand all of the gods, but it was worth it. After picking apart this book, it did not take me long to realize that this book was truly about love. All that happened in this book had to do with love. The sacrifices, the sisters, and even the war. Adele Geras beautifully depicts what happened in the raid of Troy, and even though it was a bit gory, you could really feel what it would have been like to be there. The author has a terrific way of writing, where you can truly connect to the characters, and you want them to succeed just the way that you would want a close friend to. Because this book has so many characters, it's a little confusing following who the chapter is about, but the scene banners at the beginning of each chapter help. I also enjoyed the gods participation in this novel, foreshadowing the whole time. It just made me want to keep reading even more. I encourage anyone who's looking for an interesting, exciting, and challenging book to pick up Troy.