Homer would be proud of her.'ĭylanwolf wanted to know what Trollope 'had been smoking'. 'This is a more than worthy winner – original, passionate, inventive and uplifting. Dylanwolf told us that when The Song of Achilles won the Orange prize, Joanna Trollope, chair of the judges, said: As for children's-book plotting, well, take that one to Homer.īut nightjar12 was mild compared to some other commenters. We're talking about the oldest and most influential heroes in western literature, after all. Miller wouldn't be doing her job properly if the characters weren't familiar. There are, however, pretty strong defences against the claims of cliche and and infantilism. This kind of objection cropped up often, and Nightjar was clearly striking a chord. 'The writing seems pedestrian, the characters cliched and the plot more appropriate for a children's book.' On reaching chapter six, Nightjar12 noted: Perhaps in response to such extravagant applause, reactions from the Reading group have been more mixed. 'Page turning … Nothing strikes a false note in her intricately created world.' The Guardian's resident classics expert, Charlotte Higgins, writes: 'A hard book to put down, any classicist will be enthralled by her characterisation of the goddess Thetis, which carries the true savagery and chill of antiquity.' Miller is by no means the first to suggest that the nature of the relationship between her narrator and Achilles was that of lovers, but it’s her willingness to chart a course that strays outside established myth that brings new life to these legendary heroes.'I read this book awestruck with admiration for the quality of its writing, its narrative pace and its imaginative depth.' In the tradition of renowned historical novelist Mary Renault, whose work centered on ancient Greece, Miller crafts a heartbreaking backstory for two of the most pivotal players in Homer’s Trojan War. With their fates already written-and inexorably entwined-the story follows exiled prince Patroclus and famed warrior Achilles, “best of all the Greeks,” from their childhood training with the centaur Chiron through their years laying siege to Troy as soldiers in Agamemnon’s army.

To say that The Song of Achilles is simply a retelling of Homer’s Iliad from a different perspective would be to overlook the depth of emotion that Madeline Miller spent 10 years infusing into the tragic romance that drives her debut.

Achilles the song of achilles