Review - The Fall of Troy
May. 2nd, 2010 01:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wilderthanThe Fall of Troy (Peter Ackroyd)
This was a lot better than I expected it to be, given it was a random find in a charity shop. The central character, Herr Obermann, is an odd one: unlikeable in his fanaticism, and yet attractive in his dedication to his ideas. The supporting characters are not so vivid, but Sophia has a quiet strength which is very appealing.
The story itself is more suspense and quiet threat than action, really. The dialogue is odd, rather stiff, because Peter Ackroyd seems to make a pretty good attempt at representing how people speak English as a second language. The writing itself is functional rather than beautiful, rather matter of fact, but not a chore to read. It does make the potential romances that could be built here rather prosaic and flat, and the whole thing feels reserved, but it works, here.
This was a lot better than I expected it to be, given it was a random find in a charity shop. The central character, Herr Obermann, is an odd one: unlikeable in his fanaticism, and yet attractive in his dedication to his ideas. The supporting characters are not so vivid, but Sophia has a quiet strength which is very appealing.
The story itself is more suspense and quiet threat than action, really. The dialogue is odd, rather stiff, because Peter Ackroyd seems to make a pretty good attempt at representing how people speak English as a second language. The writing itself is functional rather than beautiful, rather matter of fact, but not a chore to read. It does make the potential romances that could be built here rather prosaic and flat, and the whole thing feels reserved, but it works, here.
