Thursday, July 12, 2012

Summary -- a "new first" and possibly last blog post!



My first post on the blog devoted to Trojan Dialogues was dated May 11, 2004:  “Thoughts on TROY (the movie)”

I have been asked to share some thoughts about the Trojan War movie. Certainly, there is a distinguished cast, and the battle scenes are said to be quite good. I have not yet seen the production, but I was a little disappointed by what I learned from Charles McGrath's review in Sunday's NY Times. Specifically, I had to raise an eyebrow at the following:

(1) Briseis apparently "gets to show some feisty combative spirit of her own, in this case by killing Agamemnon - thus depriving Aeschylus and all those Athenian theatergoers of their most famous story."

(2) For some strange reason, "this movie senselessly kills Menelaus off."

O.K. Here is my blog-question of the evening: If one must alter the plot line -- a heresy to which I, also, plead guilty -- should he/she not at least endeavor to find IMPROVEMENTS?

My next post was dated six days later:  “A Similar Criticism (movie and book)”

A. O. Scott’s review of TROY, in the 5/16/04 NY TIMES, had this interesting comment: “[The movie] plunges you into a world where people talk about such things [i. e. ‘honor, loyalty, and military virtue’] incessantly, and where every speech is punctuated by booming timpani and the ululations of an apparently tongueless female singer, her inarticulate moans announcing that this is not just a movie but an epic." Permit me to share some criticism of my own novel.

I made a deliberate literary decision that has apparently raised some eyebrows. Through the use of extended speeches and dialogues, much of the action is conveyed as declamation -- not altogether unlike the ancient Greek style. This mode of presentation is certainly reasonable, since the story conveyed is a first-person narrative, the tale of Diomedes. I believe that I have been quite successful with this stylistic device, particularly with the portrayal of battle scenes. Nevertheless, one reader questioned my “somewhat stilted language,” while a musical colleague quipped, “your dialogues often seem orchestrated with too much timpani”! Guilty as charged . . .

Other posts were deleted, until that of January 4, 2005:

It has dawned on me that one of the first things I should do is provide readers with the means by which to contact me with questions about the book. Kindly e-mail me directly -- and indicate whether I have permission to post your question(s) and my response on the blog. Many thanks for your interest!

One reader asked whether I have seen the movie.
• No, alas, I still have not, and seem singularly disinclined to do so. This comment is not intended to cast aspersion on the production. However, I simply do not feel there is any kindred affinity between my book and the movie.

Another reader asked whether I intended my novel as an “anti-war” statement. She cited certain of my barbs -- e. g., my allusion to a “Bronze-age Rambo” -- and wondered about inferences which might be drawn.
• I believe that the glorification of war invites exaggeration and outright lies, and many pundits agree with this assertion.
• I began the manuscript before the first “Gulf War,” and far before the more recent invasion of Iraq.
• Obviously, Priam’s army had a better chance to preserve his kingdom than did Hussein’s. However, though the resistance may have been more spirited, the final outcome was just as inevitable.
• No less obviously, both wars appear to have been founded on false pretenses. Helen was not “stolen” by Paris, and Saddam Hussein did not have any “weapons of mass destruction.”
• These points aside, I have not sought to convey anything political in this novel. The “anti-war” message is more cultural than anything else. Certainly, the sufferings of those involved -- the horrible carnage of the battle scenes, the rapes and savage murders, the wanton destruction -- present stark testimony about the reality of war. Readers are, of course, free to interpret the text as they see fit. Indeed, even as the story of the Trojan War invites different renditions, my version invites a number of interpretations.

In June, 2009, I had a major announcement: 

After six long years with PublishAmerica, I have obtained my freedom! That print-on-demand firm lived up to its promise to publish Trojan Dialogues without requesting any fees from the author. Unfortunately, the company proceeded to overprice the volume obscenely; the 295-page paperback listed at $24.95, and my royalties were minuscule, despite a favorable review from an Amazon.com reader.
*****

Finally, I should like to repeat the announcement posted earlier on JanusLiteraryAgency.blogspot.com.  Trojan Dialogues is again available, this time for Kindle Reader (but presumably also accessible on iPad, Nook, and a host of other “apps”).  The url is as follows:


I also have a handful of “hard copy” volumes.  Those interested can e-mail me at JanusLiteraryAgency@gmail.com for information.