Today, while the rest of my family took an after-school nap, I finally finished Troy by Adèle Geras. First, I must clarify by saying that it has nothing to do with the 2004 film--it's another story completely, so wipe Brad Pitt out of your mind for just a little bit. When I started reading the book, we were studying Edith Hamilton's Mythology in English class, and the weekend before the big test I figured the best way to study was to read a somewhat-related novel.
Well, that was last spring, and until today I hadn't been able to finish it. It's a tough pill to swallow. The "dramastic" nature of the book wore me out. I had to put it down and take a break. A long break. For a while, I contemplated if I even wanted to finish it. But, since I decided to buckle down and start reading more, I figured I might as well finish some of the one's I'd already started. Now that I've gotten it over with, I can fill you in.
The occasional appearance of a god and the legendary setting mask a run-of-the-mill teen drama. Amidst all the incredible things Geras could have done with the story of Troy, she chose to make it merely the picture frame of the real story about silly, lovesick teenagers. "Susie likes Billy who likes Shauna who likes Chad who's sleeping with Shauna's sister Carla. Oh yeah, and Hector and Achilles are out fighting or something. But ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Chad's so beautiful!!" It should have been called Trojan Degrassi.
As for the writing, purple prose make it sound fancy while dumbed-down modern English (I'm officially sick of the contraction "d'you") create the dialouge. They conflict with each other without either one of them sounding good. I got bored while reading any descriptions and rolled my eyes throughout most of the speaking. It simply wasn't enjoyable.
The most unsettling part came at the end. It was as if the train had run out of track and skidded to a stop in the dirt. There was no resolution to some of the major conflicts, and there was hardly a dénouement to speek of. Geras just stopped, quit, gave up, leaving you with that unsettled feeling you get when you miss the last ten minutes of a movie. After the last line, I thumbed through the blank pages in the back of the book looking for an epilogue, but there was none. We'd screeched to a halt and now Conducter Geras was pushing me off the train.
Needless to say, I was disappointed. Personally, I think Geras should have just written some washed-up high school romance instead of baiting and switching those of us who wanted a good read on Greek mythology. I appreciate her concept of how the lives of normal kids were affected by the famous events around them, but the characters made little to no impact on what was actually happening. Instead, they flailed around and played house with each other while the reader itches for some word of the real story that comes once every chapter or so.
If you're looking for a good interpretation of Greek mythology, steer clear. You're going to be dissapointed to find an ancient installment of High School Musical. But, if you like all the teen drama with a little historical/mythological twist, you might just like it, and I hope you'll enjoy it more than I did.
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