Our book of the month is Heroes by Stephen Fry. What do a fleece, a labyrinth and a winged horse all have in common? Greek myths of course! We give you our Big Review below.
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Heroes – the blurb
“Few mere mortals have ever embarked on such bold and heart-stirring adventures, overcome myriad monstrous perils, or outwitted scheming vengeful gods, quite as stylishly and triumphantly as Greek heroes.
In this companion to his bestselling Mythos, Stephen Fry brilliantly retells these dramatic, funny, tragic and timeless tales. Join Jason aboard the Argo as he quests for the Golden Fleece. See Atalanta – who was raised by bears – outrun any man before being tricked with golden apples. Witness wily Oedipus solve the riddle of the Sphinx and discover how Bellerophon captures the winged horse Pegasus to help him slay the monster Chimera.
Filled with white-knuckle chases and battles, impossible puzzles and riddles, acts of base cowardice and real bravery, not to mention murders and selfless sacrifices, Heroes is the story of what we mortals are truly capable of.“
Stuff of legend
I’ve read a fair few books now on Greek myths and legends. I’ve been taught them at school and observed as my daughter was taught them. Yet for some reason they have never stuck. There are just so many names to remember, so many random monsters, murders and ravished females giving birth to the offspring of the Gods. Yet I am a big fan of how Fry writes so found myself once more dipping my toes in to the stuff of legend.
It’s the way he writes it
If anyone was going to crack the telling of Greek legends it was going to be Fry. He just has a way of making things accessible. Yes there are still lots of names, murders and ravished females but it’s how Fry regurgitates his research that makes Heroes shine. Risque references to golden showers and having Gods talk about taking a crap give it a modern anchor that most retellings miss. Fry takes the facts, wraps them in a easy access bow and sprinkles it with humor much to the readers delight. I mean, how many times have you come across a quote from Yoda when reading Greek history?
Beginning, middle and end
Heroes is actually book number two in Fry’s retelling (Mythos being number 1). I haven’t read Mythos and didn’t suffer for it although I can clearly see where it fits in to the timeline. Fry is also releasing a book about Troy due out later this year and whilst you can leave Heroes without ever picking up a legend book again, there is some ground work undertaken in it that will no doubt come in useful should you choose to read Troy.
Time will tell if Fry’s version of the Greek Gods stay in my head longer than other books. Jason and his golden fleece certainly seem to have made more of an impression on me this time round but I think my favorite has to be Hercules. As always the women are either beautiful virtuous beings that catch the eye of an immortal or ugly cunning pieces of work such as the Harpies, Medusa or Medea. Fry does include Atlanta but the rest of the subject matter are all male. This is however surely the fault of the Greek legends as opposed to any bias from Fry.
Heroes is an entertaining, informative read despite the going over of old territory. Know, do I buy Mythos?
Get Involved
If you would like to get involved with our book of the month try answering our book club questions published every month. Just search in our footnotes section for the ‘Get Involved’ articles. We review a new book every month so keep your eyes peeled for the Lowdown on September’s book of the month soon.
