The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, 352 p. 
 

"Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart."--Amazon blurb

This was such a well-written and engaging book. So many know the story of Achilles and how the war with the Trojan horse played out, but such a different perspective on the story made this a great read. 

The Song of Achilles: A Novel by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles: A Novel by Madeline Miller --- 378 pages

This is Miller's first novel, and shows great promise as an exciting new voice in historical fiction. With solid scholarship in the classics combined with a background in theater, Miller retells one of the great mythic tales of ancient Greece, the Iliad of Homer, and most particularly, the iconic tale of the hero Achilles --- "best of the Greeks" --- and his beloved companion, Patroclus.

At least one reviewer has already invoked a comparison with Mary Renault. While it is too early to make such an assertion, on the basis of a single novel, this is certainly a writer of enormous potential.

Miller takes Patroclus as her narrator, giving a new perspective on the old tale, and recreates with deft details both the brutality and the beauty of the ancient world. Because western civilization prides itself on its Greek and Roman heritage, we assume we know this world and these people, but Miller shows us a world at once familiar and alien to our modern sensibilities. Most hauntingly she shows us the fatalism of that world, where men struggle mightily to outwit their doom yet know they cannot escape it in the end. Still, it is the struggle that defines them as human, and in the end, even the unforgiving gods acknowledge that persistence.

An absorbing story, beautifully written, with characters that live and breathe on every page.