In The Iliad, Homer describes 10 years of the Trojan War, the events leading up to the war and the continual interference of the gods in the affairs of mankind. Several themes are underlined--fate, honor, wrath and that most Greek combination of pride and arrogance, hubris. But one thing The Iliad is never billed as is a love story. Until now.
Debut author Madeline Miller builds a brilliant novel around the love story at the heart of The Iliad between its key figure, Achilles, and his companion Patroclus. She chooses the little-known Patroclus as her narrator, creating a fascinating and complex character: the son of a king, stripped of his title and exiled to tiny Phthia to be fostered by Peleus, father of Achilles.
The boys become friends, and Achilles' destiny as a great warrior soon becomes evident, as do the deeper feelings developing between the two. But there are dark clouds hanging over this nascent romance--the prophecy that Achilles will die in battle, and Achilles' mother, the immortal and embittered sea-nymph Thetis. All too soon, Achilles and Patroclus must go to war.
The slow, sunlit pace of the novel undergoes a rapid shift once the scene moves to Troy. Miller's battle scenes combine thrilling action and subtle shifts in mood; it is here that she captures her readers most completely, tying the intimate story of Achilles and Patroclus to larger, resonant themes of honor, friendship and self-determination. Her lens is panoramic, her battlefield wide and bloody; it is a testament to Miller's prodigious talent that all of her scenes--whether describing the chaos of war or the secrets whispered between lovers--are equally powerful and nuanced.
It is no small task to take on The Iliad, never mind the myths on which it is based, and come out so far ahead. With this dazzling jewel of a novel, Madeline Miller has proven more than worthy of the challenge. --Debra Ginsberg, author
Read more about The Song of Achilles in our Maximum Shelf.