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Paperback
Publisher: Stonewall Inn Editions
Format: Bargain Price
Three millennia old, the story of the Trojan War is one of the benchmark works of the Western canon. Against a modern backdrop, Merlis retells this ancient tale to explore the intricacies of modern gay history, identity, and the wall between "gay" and "straight".
Mark Merlis, who debuted in 1995 with the marvelous American Studies, has once again worked magic, producing a book that is as momentous as it is mysteriously moving. Set during the Trojan War, An Arrow's Flight recounts the story of Achilles's son Pyrrhus, prophesied to be the soldier who conquered Troy. But Merlis's tale departs from the standard versions of the story: here, Pyrrhus is a go-go boy and hustler who lives in the demiworld of the gay ghetto and bears a closer resemblance to characters from John Rechy's City of Night than anybody in Edith Hamilton's Mythology. In its opening pages, An Arrow's Flight seems to be little more than a clever postmodern gag, but Merlis knows exactly what he is doing, and the novel quickly becomes a unique, emotionally overwhelming masterpiece. Merlis's historical and sexual sleights of hand end up thrilling and shocking by locating us somewhere between myth and history, between fiction and fable. The very themes and ideas of An Arrow's Flight shimmer and shift before our eyes: war, male friendship, Troy, AIDS, sexual identity, and Vietnam are all explored and elucidated. By the end, the novel resonates with beauty, intelligence, and empathy. --Michael Bronski
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| Gets under your skin |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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I wasn't sure what to expect when I read this. Though a fan of both mythology and gay fiction, I didn't know how melding the two would work. I spent the first half of the book intrigued by the general concept, admiring the craft in utilizing classical methodology in storytelling - like the destruction of the fourth wall to have a chorus commentary running alongside the narrative - but not really connecting to the self-centered characters. But then, just over halfway through the story, something clicked. A single scene with Pyrrhus rocked me to the core, and I realized that the presentation of the first half hadn't distanced me from the story at all. It had slowly but surely maneuvered me into understanding this young man to the point of being as blindsided by an emotional revelation as he was. I absolutely devoured the last third of the story, desperate to get to the end.
The only reason this review isn't 5 stars is because of several slightly meandering passages scattered throughout the book. Sometimes they're chorus commentary, others were Phoenix's longwinded stories. There were enough of them to slow me down in reading, and to almost skim when I'd hit another one.
In the end, though, it's a story that gets under your skin and stays there. I definitely recommend it.
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| Dull |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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The book had an interesting premise, but the story itself seemed lackluster and none of the characters had any redeeming social value--they were all so relentlessly self-absorbed as to make me depressed. Mostly the story was rather dull, even the sexual parts, and the author kept breaking the fourth wall to explain why he didn't know his characters. If you're the author and you don't understand your own character, something in your story is flawed.
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| Gods and mortals |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I was dubious when I started the book. It seemed just another coming of age in the gay ghetto story. But there was something about the writing that made me care much more than I should have, based on what the lead character, Pyrrhus, was actually doing.
I love the story of Achilles and the Trojan War, and Greek mythology in general. Greek mythology is fabulous, timeless human psychology.
As the book progresses, it becomes a profound meditation on shame, self-loathing, defiance of heterosexual oppression, and the always relevant mystery of the brevity of youth and the joys and burdens of aging. It is also a commentary on gay culture.
It is terrific fun to read and became progressively more so as the book went on.
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| The Trojan War your English teacher didn't teach you about...but should have! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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"An Arrow's Flight" is the story of Pyrrhus (a.k.a. Neoptolemus), the son of Achilles, fated to be the hero of the Trojan War. But when Odysseus and the other Greeks come looking for him after hearing the prophecy, they learn that Pyrrhus is working as a stripper and a prostitute in the big city. And he's gay.
This is definitely not what Odysseus was expecting, but then, it's probably not what you were expecting either. Merlis takes the story of the end of the Trojan War and twists it around as only an expert could, making it very modern and very real while still retaining many of the themes that the ancient Greeks cherished so much, like whether or not we have the power to choose our own destiny, and what it takes to be a hero. The premise may sound funny, and it's true that many clever or amusing parts of the book might make you laugh out loud, even more so if you understand the obscure mythological references (though no extensive knowledge of Greek mythology is required to enjoy the book). But Merlis also deals with much more serious issues, turning Philoctetes's snake bite into a metaphor for AIDS that is so precise and fitting I was almost surprised no one had thought of it before. By the end of the book, all of the humor is gone, leaving the reader with a heart-wrenching depiction of how severely the gay community was affected by AIDS in the late 1970's.
Merlis is an amazing writer in that he brings out the subtleties and nuances not only in Greek mythology, but also in human nature. He can take the simplest thought or gesture and describe it in such a way as to make it take on a whole new meaning. The large and colorful cast of characters includes Pyrrhus, the young, rebellious protagonist, Leucon, his shy and self-conscious roommate, Corythus, the naïve and enthusiastic sailor, and Nereus, the repressed, serious lieutenant. All of the characters are so complex and believable that anyone, whether male or female, gay or straight, could relate to them in some way. Pyrrhus's quest to find his purpose in life and in the process discover himself is the same challenge that everyone must face, and the fact that Pyrrhus has an oracle trying to dictate these things to him only makes it that much more confusing.
I recommend "An Arrow's Flight" as highly as I possibly can. Not only are the characters and details great, but the plot is engaging and full of twists that distort the original myths while still giving me the sense that it couldn't have happened any other way. Whether you want to laugh, cry, or just read a great piece of literature that will make you feel and think deeply about things that you normally wouldn't, this book is definitely a must-read.
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| Did I miss something? |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
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Maybe I should have been more familiar with the Greek tragedy this story is based on? Frankly, I'm not sure what purpose was served by switching back and forth from Classical Greece to modern day. What I did like was the very on target insights as to how a gay man feels from adolescence to adulthood. Personally I think the book would have been just as effective by just keeping it as historical fiction.
I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to someone.
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