The Siege of Troy: A novel

Theodor Kallifatides

Translated from the Swedish edition by Marlaine Delargy

Paperback: 208 pages

Publisher: Other Press (September 10, 2019)  

ISBN-10: 159051971X

ISBN-13: 978-1590519714

https://www.amazon.com/Siege-Troy-Novel-Theodor-Kallifatides/dp/159051971X           

Reviewed by Dr. Wesley Britton

It's been decades since I read Homer's The Iliad,  so my memory of it is extremely dim. I remember many of the stories, the abduction of Helen, the famous Greek warriors who besieged the city of Troy for 10 years, the use of poetic devices like the opening "Invocation to the Muse," the long descriptions of soldier's armor, etc.

Now, Swedish author Theodor Kallifatides has re-imagined the Iliad for modern readers and I suspect most non-scholars of Greek literature are going to prefer the new version. For one matter, all the poetic devices are stripped away and replaced by a much simpler prose narrative. For another, Kallifatides created a framework for his retelling that has a Greek schoolteacher recounting the story of The Iliad day-by-day to one of her classes during World War II when airstrikes repeatedly forced the class to run to nearby caves for protection.

The 1940s set part of the novel includes an ongoing love triangle as well as interactions between the German occupiers and local citizens. I'll confess, I was drawn into this story as much as the retelling of events in ancient Troy. It's a fresh approach even if the two storylines don't really parallel each other.

In regards to the old, old stories, I had forgotten just how bloody the war was. I was often surprised by the number of combatants. That many warriors, on both sides, dying in droves and droves? Seems historically doubtful, but I could be wrong.

I had also forgotten just how Achilles was a stubborn, selfish, and petulant figure. I didn't know his death by way of an arrow in his heel is not a story in the Iliad and thus not in The Siege of Troy either. The same is true of the Trojan Horse episode which wasn't told until Virgil's Aeneid. I didn't know that either until I did some homework to see why things in Homer's poem weren't in the Kallifatides reworking. Well, Kallifatides turns out to be a very faithful adapter of the ancient stories although he left many things out, mostly descriptions of the various armies and the quarrels between the gods which appear much less frequently in The Siege of Troy.

Author Theodor Kallifatides is actually Greek but immigrated to Sweden where his works are first published in Swedish. The Siege of Troy is his second work Translated by Marlaine Delargy, the first being the 2018 Another  Life. Sounds like a book I would like to explore as The Siege of Troy was one of my favorite readings of 2019. Hopefully, for you too.

This review first appeared at BookPleasures.com on Sept. 25, 2019:

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Thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Random House UK, Ebury Publishing for providing me with an ARC copy of this book that I voluntarily chose to read and review.

I don’t read many inspirational books so I cannot share a deep analysis of how original the book might be or where it sits in regards to the topic. The book covers a variety of subjects, and it is classed under psychology and health, philosophy and self-help, and I agree it does touch on all those.

I’m a psychiatrist and I must admit I have never studied Positive Psychology as part of my degree but this book doesn’t require an in-depth knowledge of any of the disciplines to benefit from it.

The author opens the book by introducing herself, her background, and questioning the current focus on happiness. Is happiness sufficient to lead a satisfying life? She goes on to discuss many of the studies that show that having a sense of meaning can make a big difference to the outcomes of people at a time of crisis, be it a life-threatening illness or students going through exams, and grounds the readers in the subject. She uses one of the pillars she identifies as important to creating meaning, story-telling, to hook the readers into the topic of the book. If somebody came to you and asked you to give him (her) a reason not to kill him/herself, what would you say? That’s what happened to Will Durant and what set him off asking his colleagues and trying to understand what brings meaning to people’s lives. From there, and using positive psychology, Emily Esfahani Smith, defines the four pillars that bring meaning to people’s lives: belonging, purpose, story-telling and transcendence. The author illustrates each one of these topics with individual stories that help make the points more accessible. We have a young man who was only interested in money, became a drug dealer, and when he went to prison discovered his lifestyle was literally killing him. There he changed his habits and ended up not only becoming fit but also helping others to become healthier. We have a woman who loves animals and finds her purpose in looking after the animals in the zoo, ensuring their lives can be interesting there too. I learned about dream directors who help young people find purpose and meaning; I read about projects that help people in the final stages of life to find a purpose, other projects that help individuals tell their stories and record their experiences, groups that bring people who’ve lost somebody together… The author achieves this and more, all the while providing sources for her findings and reminders of how the issues discussed relate to philosophers and historical figures past and current. We might discover belonging by joining a society that enacts battles or find transcendence walking in nature or attending a special service at church. Ultimately, this is not a prescriptive book, and the process of discovery of meaning is an individual one.

I loved the stories, which go from individual experiences to projects that have grown and become important to many people, and the theoretical reflections that underpin the concepts, which are clearly explained and will also encourage readers new to the topic to explore further. The author succeeds in preserving the unique voices of the people whose experiences she shares and her own writing is seamlessly and beautifully achieved.  The book made me think and rethink life and its priorities and I suspect it will have a similar effect on many people.

A book on an important topic, written in an easily-accessible manner, illuminating and inspiring. Although I read it quickly for the review, this is a book that can be savoured and returned to as needed, and it will provide new discoveries and insights with every new reading.

A final note: Although the book appears quite long, the notes at the end occupy a 33% of the e-book (although they are easily accessible) and it does not feel like a long read.

While reading Princess Bride I find myself being disengaged. While reading the part where the men in black has to fight the three kidnappers the narrative comes to a halt when the author puts in a whole other story explaining the back story of the kidnappers. This might be something that other readers are use to and enjoy.

It's great to get more information about the Spaniard's hunt for the six fingered man. To know the intense training for ten years where he squeezes rocks was exciting. I just wish it was it's own short story. By placing it in the main narrative took away from the main drama and waiting to see if the man would make it to the top of the cliff.

Old TV sitcoms  had episodes of the high-lights of that season. They where stringed along by a terrible narrative. The clips where out of place. With out context to back them up they just weren't funny.  I cringed every time a big star of the show said something like;

"ohh Cranmer your always getting into trouble. Remember the time.." this would be followed by a wave screen effect that brought in a ton of clips about Cranmer getting in trouble."

This might be because I am use to reading shorter works where the action is direct. Novels are much more complex and adds detail to flesh out the world it takes place in.  

As stated in my previous post, the forward by William Goldman was a fantastic way of introducing this story to the reading public. I am going to mark this post with a spoiler warning because I will talk about events with in this introduction. 

William Goldman wanted to create some mystery to his book so he created S. Morgenstern or possibly the man exists. (The internet is telling me that the original book that William's abridged story is based on) glad I checked. 

Though if he made up what I originally thought as true events in his life doesn't matter, it only show cases his literary talent for  weaving layers of narrative. 

If this was only a literary devise,much like Hawthorn finding the scarlet letter in an old chest, it is well implicated.

The movie, which how I was introduced to this story has the old man read to the Yong sick boy whom would rather play a fantasy inspired choose your own adventure game on a computer running basic DOS doesn't hold the attention of the reader. Yes it allows Goldman to interject with things like; don't worry she isn't eaten by sharks at this point, to alleviate the fears of the small boy he is reading to. Though it doesn't come across the same way in the book. In the book you have the impression he is talking directly to you. The asides are written like author notes trying to stir your mind to think one way or another about the material.

I am unsure the story would have the same weight behind it if  it was presented in less direct point of view like setting up the story with having an opening scene of a father or grand father reading to their child, like seen in the movie.

From the perspective of some one whom saw the movie, loved the movie, told all my friends they most see this film as I am playing around; saying the famous lines "you killed my farther, prepare to die"; what I'm getting from the book is the writers voice over the story. He treats the story not as something he conceived (which may or may not be the case) but something he is improving on. That is what makes the book engaging and what will keep me reading it.