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The Song of Achilles
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Description
"At once a scholar's homage to The Iliad and startlingly original work of art by an incredibly talented new novelist....A book I could not put down."
--Ann Patchett
"Mary Renault lives again!" declares Emma Donoghue, author of Room, referring to The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller's thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War. A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer's enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller's monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction's brightest lights--and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.
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--Ann Patchett
"Mary Renault lives again!" declares Emma Donoghue, author of Room, referring to The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller's thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War. A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer's enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller's monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction's brightest lights--and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.
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Product details
- Paperback | 378 pages
- 132.08 x 200.66 x 27.94mm | 340.19g
- 28 Aug 2012
- Ecco Press
- English
- 0062060627
- 9780062060624
- 31,524
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Back cover copy
Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful-- irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.
They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.
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They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.
show more
Review quote
"In the tradition of Mary Renault... Miller draws on her knowledge of classical sources wisely... Well-paced, engaging and tasteful."--London Times Literary Supplement
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Our customer reviews
\"I will never leave him. It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me.\"
You may know how this epic mythological tale ends, but you\'ve never read the story of Achilles and his beloved companion, Patroclus.
I really have no words for how much I loved this story, how much I believe that it deserved the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction. I was approached by the publisher about a feature of the book on my blog, with an offer for a review copy. I initially turned that offer down, thinking I had no time to fit for this book. But then I took a closer look, and several friends, wanting to read it themselves, urged me to give this book a try. I\'m upset to think that I almost let The Song of Achilles pass me by.
Author Madeline Miller\'s re-imagining of the story of Achilles is simply brilliant. It takes a special magic to entice readers into taking an adventure in which they already know the ending. With her beyond gorgeous narrative, and a focus on the beautiful, doomed love between Achilles and Patroclus, The Song of Achilles is a story to fall in love with.
To take Patroclus, a largely unremembered character from The Iliad, and build this story around him and his love for Achilles, was genius. Miller built a man who was stronger, braver, and more loyal than he could ever realize. His story was achingly tragic, and more thoughtful and beautiful than I can say.
Helen of Troy may have been the face to launch a thousand ships, but Patroclus was the force that gave Achilles the push to become a hero.show more
by Andrea Thompson