The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

The Song of Achilles is a sort of retelling of The Iliad from the point of view of Patroclus, an exiled prince and the lover and companion of Achilles, the “Best of the Greeks”. THE SONG OF ACHILLES is a beautiful novel. I don't get the appeal of this book. Maybe it's because I wasn't raised reading myths and didn't study them in high school or college, so they're not really part of my frame of reference. Reading Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles is like sinking into a beanbag chair at the Sequim Public Library, circa 1977, to gobble up the delicious tales of mortals battling against the gods with wits and weapons. Many moons ago, Dear Author posted a debut author interview for Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles. We chose The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller for my book group via a poll, probably because there was so much talk about it and because it had won this year's Orange Prize for Fiction. €This and this and this!” The Song of Achilles stars Patroclus, a peripheral character in The Iliad. What can I say, to convey how wonderful The Song of Achilles was? There are pages of praise for this brilliant book both in print and online, all deserved. That didn't intrigue me as much as Booksmuggler's adoration for the book (word of mouth and hand-selling, right?). €The Iliad turns on Achilles' pride and his relationship with Patroclus, but Homer is sparing with the personal—so much so that, though we believe in their friendship, we do not understand it. €The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller is a book that takes mythology and makes it easy to read and comprehend. A selection in this year's Morning News Tournament of Books, I'm not even sure if Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles was on my radar. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia to be raised in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. In case I'd forgotten what a good story could do, Song of Achilles was ready to show me. Synopsis (Publisher): The legend begins… Greece in the age of heroes.