I’ve not read “The Song of Achilles, but it is being added to my Amazon wish list very soon. Madeline Miller’s follow up effort, “Circe”, was a wonderful journey to the age of heroes, monsters, and myths.
This was an absolute joy to read. If you are familiar with The Odyssey, Circe is the witch that Odysseus stays with for a time, the one that transforms his crew into pigs. This book is the story of her life, from her earliest days in the halls of the Gods, to the various visitors and adventures she had while exiled on Aeaea, and beyond.
Miller does an outstanding job of recreating the myths and drawing us into the story. It was good to see how the various Titans/Gods/Demigods/mortals related to each other. She really set the scene for the major rivalries and events of the classical stories. She did leave out some of Odysseus’s children, not entirely sure why, but I otherwise loved how she advanced the story to a conclusion. I, being unfamiliar with Telegony, was overjoyed to see a decent telling of the end of Odysseus’s life. I also thought she did an excellent job blending the two traditions of the character, Clever Odysseus (Greek) and Devious Ulysses (Roman).
I recommend this one to any who like the Greek classics, or just want a good read. This was the 2018 book of the year for the Book of the Month club, deservedly so. Worth a read.
The Skinny from the Fatty 