Helen of Troy 1993 by Marie zoccola was an excellent read. I was obsessed with it the second it crossed my dash and I knew I had to read it, no part of me is dissapointed.

This collection of poems is easily one of my favorites. Growing up in TN in the 90s (and not far from Sparta!), I could easily place Helen and the other characters within my own scope of the world. It's easy to see the gossip-y women at church, remember the way the tile looked within the Piggly Wiggly. It brought up so many memories that I had forgotten about.

The story itself is a beautiful one, and Zoccola's way with words and how she describes things had me laughing and excited to dive in further and read more. Helen's voice was so strong and because of that the afterword had me floored. Honestly, I cannot recommend this enough. I will be obnoxious about this I fear.

In Helen of Troy, 1993, Maria Zoccola transplants Helen to small town Tennessee and utterly humanizes her. This book doesn’t stick strictly to the Greek myths and is the better for it. They are its inspiration but Tennessee’s Helen takes on a life, and an attitude, of her own. Likewise, the incarnations of the supporting characters belong solely to their contemporary environment. What results is a book that can be enjoyed without much knowledge of Greek mythology.

This book starts with Helen boldly defying any judgement of her unless they have been through the same gritty experiences she has endured. Through the course of the book we see her born, her married life, her affair and her return. We see the world through the eyes of the town women and swans are a theme throughout. The great battles are with wasps and kudzu. Epiphanies occur in movie theaters.

The poetic range is from lyrical to rank to plainspoken revealing that Zoccola is capable of a variety of voices. The language reflects the vagaries of life, from intense to routine. The person Zoccola creates as the Helen of 1993 isn’t necessarily likable but she’s recognizable as one of us, sallying forth with our flaws, navigating the life we’ve been born into, wrestling with the choices we’ve made and what they’ve come to.

I read this book–all the way to the end, which includes the poet giving us her history with the Greek myths–and went right back to the start and read it again. I enjoyed it at least as much the second time and can see this book being read and reread and studied for its various nuances and for where it leans into and where it departs from the myths.

One point that didn’t resolve itself with the second read is the decision not to present the poems in a chronological order. We go from Helen being born to one early childhood experience to her married and pregnant. Later poems provide us with some background on her youth and meeting her husband. They are amidst poems in the present. There is a storyline here (the affair comes and goes, her relationship with her daughter develops) and I wish the poems would have been presented in a more linear fashion. During the first reading, the time-switching was confusing. The fact that each individual poem is engaging kept me going. For the second reading, it was still jarring and I found myself wondering why it was decided to disrupt the timeline. Part of the reason I regret the abandonment of a more linear narrative was that this book would have been a wonderful gateway into poetry for those who are usually fiction readers. I think that’s less true the way the poems are currently arranged.

Even with that one hitch, I highly recommend anyone give this book a read. Zoccola provides a refresher on the myth in the back (and a family tree in the front) if that historical/literary background matters to you but it’s by no means necessary. Helen of Troy, 1993, is embedded in her own time and place, breaking and mending her life in recognizable ways.

Maria Zoccola has done an incredible job reimagining one of the most famous figures from Greek Myth into a 1990s Southern housewife. Helen of Troy, 1993 is a beautiful collection of narrative poetry which is a retelling of Helen from Greek antiquity. I will forever be drawn to new takes on these tales. Each piece has such a distinct and powerful voice and the volume holds a lot of wit. I didn't love them all, but the whole work stands out.

This works so well as a story in itself but those that know the myths will definitely get more out of it. Maria does explain Helen's story (from Greek Mythology) in her afterward for those that need more context. Along with that, her notes section lists some of her poems and the myths they are derived from.

I highly recommend this collection to Greek myth and poetry fans in general. I will pick up anything Maria writes after this. What a great debut.

As part of my effort to diversify my reading, I’ve been exploring poetry collections, and Helen of Troy, 1993 immediately caught my eye—first because of its title, and then because of its evocative cover. The concept of the legendary Helen living through the mundanity of a small town in 1993 was both fascinating and unique.

One of the most important aspects of the collection is the afterword, which I highly recommend reading. Maria Zoccola provides invaluable insight into the collection, offering a deeper understanding of the poems and their themes. Several poems in particular stood out to me, including “helen of troy feuds with the neighborhood,” “helen of troy watches jurassic park in theaters,” “helen of troy’s turn to judge,” “helen of troy reigns over chuck e. cheese,” and “helen of troy explains to the gods.” Each of these poems offers a fresh perspective on the ancient myth and womanhood, juxtaposing the grandeur of Helen’s legendary life with the banality of modern existence.

What I found especially compelling was the way Zoccola reimagines Helen of Troy, larger-than-life and yet somehow grounded in the ordinary. The idea that someone as iconic as Helen could experience the same mundane, everyday moments as a mortal woman resonated with me deeply. Zoccola masterfully explores how Helen’s mythic elopement with Paris—once a dramatic and world-altering event—can be reinterpreted as a relatable, almost commonplace affair. The collection touches on how, even in a small town, Helen’s overwhelming sense of self can burst forth. It’s a look at how a woman running away from her husband and child, supposedly burning her life to the ground, could result in her living the same life in the end.

I see myself returning to this poetry collection again. I feel like there is a lot here that I could find in subsequent reads.

Thank you to Maria Zoccola and Scribner via NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

This wasn't the right fit for me, which is fine. I feel a bit over retellings of, and honestly at this point even references to, Greek mythology. The writing is nice. I give it a neutral 3 stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Scribners for an e-ARC of this slim collection of related poems, to be published in January 2025. A good idea by Scribners to do it only in ebook and paperback formats.
In the last decade, and even more so on the last 3 or 4 years, there have been many modern rewrites of Ancient Classical texts. This particular volume resets part of The Iliad in Sparta, TN, circa early '90's.
It works really well.
Zoccola, this is her first published book, combines a Homeric cadence with contemporary to 1993 detail in the life of the beautiful "Helen". Married and pregnant by age 21, her husband not The Big Cheese any longer, she runs off for an affair, only to come home a few months later. Proud in this small town, but knows it is all a dead end.
My only complaint is with the title, as this is really "Helen of Sparta" rather than Troy.
Brilliant idea, done well.
4 out of 5. A nice addition to the burgeoning genre of Classics Rewritten for Modern Times. Think Anne Carson, but less scholarly (but that is OK, and it fits 1990's TN much better).

Really smart, intelligent poems. Vibrant and doesn't hold back. Fantastic social commentary--and very interesting. Unlike anything else I've read this year--so very intellectually fun. Reminds me of Stein's WHAT TO MISS WHEN--if you enjoyed that collection, I think you would enjoy this one. Highly recommended.

I probably should have brushed up on my Greek poems prior to reading this as my memory of Helen of Troy is scant. I loved the afterword and notes from the author as it really helped flesh out the story for me and see the connection between this retelling and the original stories of Helen.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an eARC.

Author used an interesting way to write this book, I really enjoyed reading it, nicely done.

Helen of Troy, 1993 is such an unusual volume of poetry! It retells the story of Helen of Troy as a housewife in Tennessee, 1993. I loved the freshness of these poems - the southern storytelling that sometimes made me stop and re-read a line (or a poem). I cannot recommend this book highly enough for other readers who love poetry. It is striking and unusual and such a rewarding read!

When I started searching for contemporary titles in epic poetry, this was one of the first and only options that appeared. Thank you to the publisher for sending me the ARC through NetGalley. Even though this is my first experience with contemporary epic poetry, I don't think I could have enjoyed the experience more. The voice of the speaker is powerful and unique, the setting is rich and alive, and the Southern idioms and phrases are fluent and hilarious. Many images and metaphors are as familiar as family and I know I see Helen in line at Dollar General on a regular basis.

This concept for a poetry collection is very interesting. It contains the world of a rural small town girl who grows up caged by life like Helen of Troy. The comparison of the two seemingly different lives makes for an excellent conduit to examine Tennessee life in 1993. What kept me from really digging deep into this was the form. The intentional run-ons and cramped spacing felt constantly overwhelming. Perhaps that's my taste in poetry, but I think it hinders the work.

{waiting to review until 2 weeks prior to pub date per publisher's request :) have already read though, so submitting this in the meantime so my feedback ratio is accurate. i don't want to be denied for additional titles due to the pub's specific request! will be back to review and update accordingly!}

What a fantastic collection. Zoccola gives new life to the myth of Helen of Troy with a new setting and a different vibe.

(3.5 rounded up). I like poetry anthologies and collections based around a central topic or disparate ones, but I think collections following one specific character or one event, etc are my favorite. This collection takes the basic frame of the myth of Helen of Troy and moves her to Sparta, Tennessee in the early nineties. These poems contain the sadness and rebellion mythological Helen displayed and expand upon what we know about the myth in ways that feel relatable and modern-ish. The struggles of being a woman, a mother, a wife, a daughter, all feature here. Like every collection, there are hits and misses and ones I felt “meh” about. Favorites included : “helen of troy watches jurassic park in theaters,” “about the affair,” and “helen of troy honeymoons on st. john.” I liked the poetry itself, but I was enamored by the specificity of the theme of the collection, which enhanced my overall feelings towards it.

I think from the description I expected this to have more of a narrative through-line but I found it hard to find and follow. Maybe I needed more knowledge of the myth to grab onto what was happening here, but I just really struggled to find my grounding in it.

What a beautiful and unique poetry collection that keeps you immersed, just as its inspiration does. The prose was gorgeous and sucked me in from the start, and the way she has crafted a classic into a 1990s housewife is genius and WORKS. I am venturing into poetry more recently than usual, and this is right up my alley! Poetry with a narrative that keeps you hooked, with enough connection to the Epic and characters I hold dear to my literary heart. I will read anything Maria Zoccola writes in the future!

Based in Sparta, TN, in 1993, Helen is alive. And life is, like it is for everyone, messy and confusing and concerning and beautiful and heartbreaking. Maria Zoccola weaves history and modernity seamlessly, asking questions that have been trapped inside all of the Helens' minds for millennia — and screaming the answers.

Zoccola’s Helen of Troy, 1993 is a masterclass in symbolism. Helen’s life in the early nineties is filled with chaos, bravery, love, pain, anger, and freedom (just to name a few), and I can’t wait for you to be able to experience it. This book will be released on January 14, 2025.

omg this was good what! rtc closer to release

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thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to review!