book review: Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
The backstory: The Song of Achilles , Madeline Miller's first novel, is on the 2012 Orange Prize longlist. The basics: The Song of Achilles is a retelling of the life of Achilles through his best friend Patrocles. My thoughts: I read The Iliad in high school, but it's safe to say I remember few of the details. I am by no means an expert in ancient Greece, so I was pleasantly surprised Madeline Miller made this novel both entertaining and easy to read while offering the reader insight into ancient Greece. The story begins when Patrocles is a boy, and I enjoyed seeing him grow as the novel went on. In many ways, this novel is a tender coming of age and love story; it's also set against the Trojan War. While I remembered some things about the Trojan War, I was mostly not familiar with the life of Achilles, and particularly the last half of the novel kept me in suspense. Madeline Miller has a gift for metaphor: "Her face was like quicksilver, always racing to some...