Couple more titles

Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
This was a very cool book--one of the first ones I read this year.  A fictional narrative of the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 (or so) Spartans stood against the entire Persian army (reputed to be hundreds of thousands strong), the book is filled with great moments of heroism and leadership.  The Spartan king, Leonidas, comes up with inspiring messages to his troops and always seems to have the right answer to address any situation.  Pressfield does a great job preparing the historical landscape so that the battle is more meaningful.  It would be nice to see him do the same with the Athenian victory at sea against the Persians that followed soon after the Hot Gates fight, but better to celebrate what we do have than lament what we don't.  The book is filled with great insights into human nature and fascinating observations about war.


The characters are well-developed and interesting, and the history (which I hope is fairly accurate) of the time period is as engrossing as it is depressing and disturbing.  I've read The Iliad and The Odyssey several times each, and they suggest a bleak, unforgiving, survivalist mentality that pervaded Greek culture, and while this book reflects that perspective to a degree, King Leonidas of the Spartans seems much more pensive and philosophical than warlike and vindictive, as he is often portrayed.  The culture of the Spartans, as illustrated in the novel, is harsh and violent, but not mindless and one-dimensional, as with the movie 300.  Don't get me wrong: I enjoyed the movie, but I admit it was cartoonish and unrealistic.  Gates of Fire is much more realistic and, as a result, more enjoyable in the empathy it develops.


True Grit by Charles Portis
This was a February choice, and the serendipity of the season matched the tone of the novel: Bleak, harsh, direct, and unforgiving.  The narrator, a woman reflecting on a significant event from her childhood, is the same as in the film versions.  She is caustic and opinionated, unyielding and resourceful.  She knows her own mind and is a great companion on this journey of vengeance.  I saw the film version with John Wayne many, many years ago, and then the more recent re-make with Jeff Bridges (which I liked better), but the book helped develop the characters in ways the films could not.  The wry observations made by the narrator and her frequent attempts to rationalize her decisions made the book a great companion for the films.  Lots of humor, lots of action.  The irascible Rooster Cogburn is difficult to root against.  The characters are well-developed and compelling, and each one is driven by his or her own goals, making this a realistic piece of fiction.  The grittiness and details of the book make it easy for readers to immerse themselves in the setting.  This is a good winter read--not for the beach.