- Hardcover: 128 pages
- Publisher: Angus & Robertson Childrens (Nov 3 1993)
- ISBN-10: 0207182310
- ISBN-13: 978-0207182310
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Sutcliff, who died last year, authored numerous retellings of canonical texts for younger readers. Here she brings into vivid focus the mythic story of the Trojan War, with all of its visually dramatic elements. While carefully tempering the bias towards the Greeks that exists in the original poem, Sutcliff's text leaves many of the epic's powerful metaphors intact: "The dark tide of warriors poured through and became a river of flame." Also preserved are a good many disturbing images ("Hector's body was dragged behind them, twisting and lurching over the rough ground, his dark hair flying and fouled with dust and all the filth of the battlefield"); and while there is no doubt that this authenticity maintains the saga's integrity and enhances its impact, younger or particularly sensitive readers may be disturbed by the violence. Accompanying the dense, earnestly told tale are Lee's cool-toned watercolors, which frequently take up the greater portion of the large format double-page spreads. Dreamy, yet highly detailed and filled with representational images, these illustrations are in keeping with the story's mythic grandeur. All ages.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 5 and up. "Achilles sat among his ships, nursing his anger as though it were a red rose in his breast." The late Rosemary Sutcliff always knew how to humanize the epic heroes without diminishing their power. Now, with the same kind of lyrical prose that distinguished her Arthurian trilogy, she takes on Homer's Iliad. People whose names we all know--Helen, Hector, Achilles, Odysseus, etc.--are all woven into one great story, with the jealous gods taking sides in the Greeks' 10-year siege of the city of Troy. Sutcliff's strong rhythms and Lee's misty watercolors in shades of brown, blue, and silvergray make this large-size volume great for reading aloud. There are dull patches about desultory battles, funeral games, and the weary machinations of gods and people, but you can skip those and get to the dramatic confrontations. Achilles sulks in his tent, then driven mad with grief and rage at the death of his friend Patroclus, he not only kills Hector, but also drags the body through the dust and filth of the battlefield. For all the rules of honor, this is a filthy battlefield, "clotted with blood," the soldiers drunk with fire and killing. Lee's illustrations show gateways choked with soldiers and chariots, men and women bent with sorrow. The climax, the story of the Wooden Horse, is amazingly told, taut with cunning and terror. Hazel Rochman
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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
New Age Gibberish,
By A Customer
This book has been stripped of all Homer's moral messages that were central to the original. The artwork is totally new age and reminds one more of unicorns and hippie art than classical Greek legends. Instead of this dumbed-down version, I would recommend "The Iliad of Homer (Oxford Myths and Legends)" by Barbara Leonie Picard and Joan Kiddell-Monroe (Illustrator). The Oxford version is suitable for eight years and up.
5.0 out of 5 stars
WORK OF ART!!!!!!,
By poo poo poo poo poo poo (poo poo poo poo poo poo poo) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad (Hardcover)
Rosemary Sutcliff and Alan Lee do such a good job in this book. Sutcliff tells the story so that it is real to kids and actually tells the story for what it is. Lee does the most awesome drawings, I was so happy when they came out with the sequal, The Wanderings of Odysseus. This is truly a masterpiece.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A requirement for every child,
By "dab_68" (Brownsville, TX United States) - See all my reviews The late Ms. Sutcliff has simply written the best version of the Illiad out there for children. Beginning with the wedding of Achilles' parents, the book covers all the major events of the Illiad including; the resulting dispute between the three Goddesses over the Golden apple, the judging by Paris, his departure with Helen, the hiding and finding of Achilles, and on, and on. Beautifully illustrated, every child should have one.
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