The Fall of Troy

As usual Peter Ackroyd's writing flows beautifully and is indeed beautiful. I really got a sense of place and of being part of a place with this book. On the down side, I did not enjoy the fact that the main male character was obviously loosely based on a real-life historical figure: Heinrich Schliemann, but at the same time twisted into another tale altogether. It made me feel feel...more

As usual Peter Ackroyd's writing flows beautifully and is indeed beautiful. I really got a sense of place and of being part of a place with this book. On the down side, I did not enjoy the fact that the main male character was obviously loosely based on a real-life historical figure: Heinrich Schliemann, but at the same time twisted into another tale altogether. It made me feel feel obliged to resentful on behalf of the 'maligned' man even though this is not about him but about a fictional character. As a consequence I probably missed the point of the story - if there was one. The climax was a bit of a wet squib. Although I felt I had been cleverly led to expect one thing and another happened, for some reason it did not have a great impact on me. If we were meant to sympathise with the Heinrich character, then the book worked, but if we were meant to be on the side of his English rival then it did not.It did make me want to find out more about the 'true' story of the discovery of the site of Troy which is a good thing.   hide