A side door into The Iliad that is
simultaneously contemporary and timeless
simultaneously contemporary and timeless
Madeline Miller, Winner of the Orange Prize…I Like That! |
Bryce visited last month and it was one of the half dozen books he finished off in three days. Luckily, he leant it to me and I made it through more quickly than my regular slow-but-steady speed.
Achilles and Patroclus by Jacques-Louis David |
Miller earned degrees in Latin and Greek and has assiduously maintained relationships with Classics Scholars. The evidence of this background shines through in The Song of Achilles, but there are two instances where she uses a curse word that doesn’t feel like it would have been used either in Homer’s time or, more importantly, in the context she’s created. However, this is one of the few missteps in the novel.
The most intriguing parts were the back story of what Chiron the Centaur taught Achilles and Patroclus (and Heracles and Jason before them), but also her frightening portrait of Pyrrhus, Achilles twelve year old son who’s a dictator from birth. Characters that are part mortal and part god wrestle with a control and coldness that are inhuman. Not surprisingly, the most modern character – though secondary in this story – is Odysseus. Intellectual brilliance trumps physical might, which was the underlying theme of The Odyssey. Here it is the basis for political strategy, whether directly acknowledged or not.
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