The Song of Achilles: A Novel (P.S.) - Softcover

Miller, Madeline

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062060627 ISBN 13: 9780062060624

Publisher: Ecco, 2012

"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.

Review:

"At once a scholar's homage to THE ILIAD and a startlingly original work of art by an incredibly talented new novelist. Madeline Miller has given us her own fresh take on the Trojan war and its heroes. The result is a book I could not put down."--Ann Patchett, bestselling author of BEL CANTO and STATE OF WONDER

"A modern take on The Iliad, full of love and feats of glory and told in an open, lyric, loose-limbed fashion that should appeal to many readers.... Next up from Miller--the story of Circe...historical fiction fans, get in on the ground floor."--Library Journal

"Masterfully brings to life an imaginative yet informed vision of ancient Greece featuring divinely human gods and larger-than-life mortals. She breaks new ground retelling one of the world's oldest stories about men in love and war [and] extraordinary women."--Publishers Weekly (starred review), Pick of the Week

"Extraordinary... Beautifully descriptive and heartachingly lyrical, this is a love story as sensitive and intuitive as any you will find."--Daily Mail

"A captivating retelling of THE ILIAD and events leading up to it through the point of view of Patroclus: it's a hard book to put down, and any classicist will be enthralled by her characterisation of the goddess Thetis, which carries the true savagery and chill of antiquity."--Donna Tartt, THE TIMES

"[Miller] makes a persuasive argument for the timeliness of her subject. ...Miller's winning debut focuses on Patroclus, a young prince living in Achilles' golden shadow. Miller also gives voice to many of the women who were also consigned to the shadows."--Publishers Weekly, Spring 2012 Preview, Top 10 Literary Fiction

"In the tradition of Mary Renault... Miller draws on her knowledge of classical sources wisely... Well-paced, engaging and tasteful."--London Times Literary Supplement

"Although the details of the story are Miller's own, the world is one that all who love the Iliad and its epigones will recognize. Reading this book recalled me to the breathless sense of the ancient-yet-present that I felt when I first fell in love with the classics."--Catherine Conybeare, Professor of Classics, Bryn Mawr College

"Miller somehow (and breathtakingly so) mixes high-action commercial plotting with writing of such beautiful delicacy you sometimes have to stop and stare."--The Independent

"Mary Renault lives again! A ravishingly vivid and convincing version of one of the most legendary of love stories."--Emma Donoghue, New York Times bestselling author of ROOM

Book Description:

LONGLISTED FOR THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION 2012. A breathtakingly original rendering of the Trojan War - a devastating love story and a tale of gods and kings, immortal fame and the human heart

• Publisher: Ecco
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0062060627
• ISBN 13: 9780062060624
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 416