(Winner, 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction) A master at adapting classical tales for modern audiences for the Yale School of Drama, Madeline Miller offers this stunning exploration of Homer's Iliad through the eyes of Patroclus, an unexceptional man swept up in the maelstrom of heroes and gods because of his love for Achilles. Compared by many critics to the works of Mary Renault, this Trojan War epic moves swiftly and surely, while Miller's rapid accumulation of sharp detail etches supremely human characters.
"Miller's prose is more poetic than almost any translation of Homer.... This is a deeply affecting version of the Achilles story: a fully three-dimension man—a son, a father, husband and lover—now exists where a superhero previously stood and fought."—Guardian (London)
"Miller captures the intensity and devotion of adolescent friendship and lets us believe in these long-dead boys ... deepening and enriching a tale that has been told for 3,000 years."—Washington Post
