‘Ransom’ by David Malouf
The novels of David Malouf have ranged from recent historical Australian settings as in ‘The Great World’ and ‘Harland’s Half Acre’ to ancient Rome at the time of Ovid in ‘An Imaginary Life’. In his latest novel ‘Ransom’, David Malouf takes us back to the time of Achilles, Hector, King Priam and the Trojan War. It is a simple story.
It is the last year of the Trojan War, the year of the heaviest fighting. Hector, the son of King Priam of Troy, kills Petroclus, the childhood friend of Greek soldier Achilles. In revenge, Achilles seeks Hector out and kills him in a fight. Achilles is so angry about the murder of his friend Petroclus that he ropes Hector’s body to his horse and drags his body back and forth through the streets of Troy for twelve days in a row. In Troy, King Priam mourns for his son and only wants to give him a decent burial. So he puts together a king’s ransom of gold and other precious metals to take to Achilles to get Hector’s body back. Priam figures if he goes not as a king but as one plain man to another, Achilles will relent and give him the body. Priam hires an ordinary cart driver, Somax, to be his driver for this arduous trip.
King Priam has fifty sons, many of them killed during the Trojan War. Being king, he has been quite remote from his children, leaving the bringing up of the children to other people. The cart driver Somax had seven sons, all of them dead by the time of this story. Somax, being a poor man, has been close to all his children, and now his own children are gone, he takes delight in his only surviving grandchild, a lively crippled four year old girl. Somax is the kind of person who takes pleasure in all of life, whereas King Priam is a more reserved figure. Somax with his humor and good nature lightens the tone of this novel.
Stories that go all the way back to the Greek myths and the Trojan War strike me as eternal. These are our first known stories, and they contain our earliest surviving ideas on what it means to be human. The Greek myths contain so many facets of life within them that even today many writers can create stories around them. Besides David Malouf, Barry Unsworth and Michel Tournier have written novels based on the Greek myths. Anne Carson of Canada has done a fine job translating and interpreting for a modern audience the plays of Euripides, Aeschylus, and Sophocles which are based on Greek myths. Also a few decades ago, Mary Renault and Robert Graves produced some excellent novels using the Greek myths as their starting point.
The writing in ‘Ransom’ is never less than clear, lucid, and lyrical. Although this is a quite short novel, it covers a lot of territory. Two of the three main characters in the novel are old men. Both King Priam and Somax have seen at least their share of troubles, and it is moving to see the interaction between these two men who are so different, one a king and one a cart-driver. In this respect, ‘Ransom’ is an old person’s novel, necessarily somber,as these two men come to terms and share their common grief over the deaths of their sons.
There is room for so much of human life within the stories contained in the Greek myths. Can you name other modern or recent novels based on the Greek myths?
Tony's Book World 
Posted by whisperinggums on April 11, 2010 at 6:33 AM
Glad you liked it Tony. His writing is beautiful.
Another recent novel based on Greek myths is Margaret Atwood’s lovely little (also) The Penelopiad which looks at Penelope’s story from her point of view. It’s another book I am going to reread…I don’t mind rereading short novels.
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Posted by anokatony on April 11, 2010 at 1:17 PM
Hi Whisperinggums,
Thanks for the tip on ‘The Penelopiad’ by Atwood. That book sounds interesting, and I might read it. I only put those big ‘doorstop’ novels on my TBR list if they get exceptionally good reviews. As you know, I’m looking for the opportunity to read ‘The Mandarins’ by de Beauvoir. I’m considering writing a entry at the halfway point of the book and then another at the end. If there is that much content in a book, maybe two reviews is apropriate, two different angles.
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Posted by kimbofo on April 11, 2010 at 3:59 PM
Hi Tony, re: modern novels based on myths, you might be interested in the Canongate myths series. http://www.themyths.co.uk/
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Posted by anokatony on April 11, 2010 at 4:18 PM
Hi Kimbofo,
I wasn’t familiar with “The Canongate Series. ‘ I suppose some people in the United States in particular might be offended seeing Jesus treated as another myth. Of course, two of my favorite writers are on the list, Michel Faber and Salley Vickers.
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Posted by Mad Housewife on April 11, 2010 at 5:06 PM
I very much enjoyed Malouf’s novel. I’m so glad to see you’re writing about the classics–well, classics retold. John Banville’s The Infinities is an extremely entertaining, beautifully-written comedy, though critically under-appreciated. Reviewers seem to have it in for Banville.
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Posted by whisperinggums on April 11, 2010 at 10:13 PM
Do they? I’ve only read The sea which I liked a great deal. My daughter read The shroud and also liked it. But, you may be right because you don’t often hear his name bandied around do you?
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Posted by anokatony on April 11, 2010 at 6:20 PM
Hi Mad Housewife,
Is The Infinities based on the Greek myths? I didn’t keep up on the reviews of that novel. I remember I had some difficulty reading one of Banvilles’ earlier novels, but I expect will come back to his books sooner or later.
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Posted by marco on April 20, 2010 at 9:18 AM
Here’s a review of Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin which includes an interesting comparison with the Penelopiad
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Posted by anokatony on April 20, 2010 at 12:14 PM
Hi Marco,
What an excellent thorough review of the book ‘Lavinia’. It really spurred my interest. I haven’t read much Ursula LeGuin, but now I must. Thanks.
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Posted by Justin on March 21, 2011 at 7:55 AM
In the journey of SOmax and Priam, Malouf reveals the deeper truths that make us fully human!
thats my topic sentence and im to write as many things as i can in an essay!!! can anyone help me out as i dont know much about the novel!
:)
PLEASSEEE HELLLPPP!!!!!
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Posted by anokatony on March 21, 2011 at 12:30 PM
Hi Justin,
You could start by contrasting Somax as a father with Priam as a father. Priam has 50 children, but was so busy with his affairs of state as King of Troy that he paid little attention to any of them. Somax had seven children, but spent a lot of time with all of them. They all got killed in the Trojan War, and now all he has left is this crippled four-year old grandchild whom he delights in. Whereas Priam was a remote father, Somax was very involved with his family. Now Priam has lost his son Hector in the war and talking to Somax begins to realize how important family is. Then you could contrast Priam’s place in life, King of Troy, with Somax’s place, cart driver, yet Somax probably has more insight into what’s important than Priam. Somax is showing Priam the basics about life that Priam never learned. Now that Priam has to face the loss of hos eldest son, he needs Somax to support him.
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