Madeline Miller is an American author with a background in Latin and Greek. The Song of Achilles was her first novel. Her second novel, Circe, followed in 2018.
In The Song of Achilles the author explores the relationship between the godlike Achilles and his mortal lover Patroclus, a story familiar to anyone who's read The Iliad. Miller's book contextualizes the romantic pairing between the two, giving us more background on Patroclus' early life and how the two men met and fell in love.
Anyone familiar with The Iliad knows how their story ends, but Miller's work goes a long way to humanizing Homer's irrational Achilles, and also toward putting his world on a more naturalistic footing. This novel of course lacks the poetry of Homer's epic, but that's entirely the point. Miller isn't trying to make some larger statement about the beauty and horror of war, but rather to relate the tragedy of two men whose love for one another clashed with both the culture of their time and the ambitions driving gods and nations.
This Song of Achilles is an admirable success. I haven't read a work of fiction this concise in years, and the ending, for all its well-worn parts, will surprise those expecting a simple setup for the fall of Troy. I haven't read Circe yet, but whenever I happen upon that book I'll be sure to buy a copy.
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