A vivid, uninhibited retelling of the classic Greek stories
"Songs on Bronze "is the first major retelling of Greek mythology in half a century... read full description
"Songs on Bronze "is the first major retelling of Greek mythology in half a century... read full description
reviews
Mar 04, 2011
Pete
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Once upon a time, long ago, far away, there lived a young boy, aged somewhere around seven years old. At his school he had completed all those 'learning to read type books' and so he was allowed to enter the school library and select for himself a proper book to read. After wandering around the shelves for a while he finally picked out a book to read. It was called Theseus and the Minotaur. That first book was a scary introduction to reading matter! Today, over fifty years later, that old boy h
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Jul 07, 2009
Cello
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I have always wanted to be more literate about the cast of characters of the Greek pantheon. I have attempted to read The Odyssey but did not have the attention span. This book contains condensed versions of just the myths I have been wanting to get more familiar with plus a version of The Odyssey which covers the most important elements of The Trojan Wars.
(You will recognize the stories from O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
The length of each section is just about right for a bed More...
(You will recognize the stories from O Brother, Where Art Thou?)
The length of each section is just about right for a bed More...
Aug 23, 2011
Matt T
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I purchased this book because it promised a "single, organic narrative" and as an avid reader of mythology this style of retelling interested me. I wanted to see how the author would attempt to bring together all of the disjointed tales into that ambitious form. I soon discovered that the stories were delivered as in most other greek myth short story books - by the chapter and with nothing to bind them.
I was unable to work out whether the book was aimed at younger readers o More...
I was unable to work out whether the book was aimed at younger readers o More...
Feb 20, 2011
Stuart
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Nigel Spivey pens an interesting new take on the classic Greek Myths, bringing a novelist's aesthetic as well as a modern sensibility to some of the more famous stories from the canon: Theseus, Perseus, Oedipus, Heracles, the Trojan War and The Golden Fleece. A few of the religious myths are scattered in, namely the tale of Demeter and Persephone, and some of minor tales pop up in brief and interesting ways. If you're a purist it probably won't satisfy, but if you're a casual reader looking for
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Mar 29, 2009
James
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A retelling of the greek mythology in novel form. It's OK, but the modern take is more boring than the epic take. There's something about the older language forms that give the sense of antiquity. The author might have done better to put them into a more modern context. The Percy Jackson novels do this better.
Oct 02, 2010
Nfpendleton
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Spivey's retelling of the myths sparkle. Give it to someone who doesn't think they like this sort of thing. Might change their mind.
Feb 16, 2008
Kirsten
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This is a fun, easy-to-read retelling of some of the most famous Greek myths. Spivey leaves in a lot of things that were left out or glossed over in the retellings I read when I was younger. He eschews archaic language in favor of the dynamic and poetic, and as a result the stories feel very immediate. I particularly enjoyed his retelling of the Persephone myth. My only complaint is that he really did pick the most famous myths, and I would have liked to run into more obscure myths that I hadn't
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Sep 10, 2008
Jasmine Star
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I think this is a grat book if you have not already read the myths. It would be a good introduction to the stories. If you are already familiar with the myths and have read the unabridged versions of the stories you may find that there is a lot missing. The author mentions this in the introduction, and i admire how well he organized the book, but it's like watching Alladin after reading Arabian Nights...mashi phal phal.
Feb 26, 2011
Danielle
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It summed up a lot of myths without leaving out too many details. I've read it many times and I don't normally read books more than once unless they're great. I loved this one. Kudos to Nigel Spivey.
Apr 24, 2008
Jen
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Okay, so I'll admit that my husband picked this up while we were at my parent's house and I stole it from him before he could finish it.
Great fun, actually. Very light, soap-opera rendition of the classic Greek myths. Easy to pick up and put down as it's basically a collection of short stories.
Great fun, actually. Very light, soap-opera rendition of the classic Greek myths. Easy to pick up and put down as it's basically a collection of short stories.
Oct 19, 2007
Meaghan
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This was an excellent book. It makes the Greek myths accessible to the average American and shows them for the awesome stories that they are. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the myths but hasn't the stomach to wade through Homer's version.
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