An Iliad - Alessandro Baricco, Ann Goldstein (Translator)

I read a full-length translation of The Iliad roughly 20 years ago and so was eager to refresh my knowledge of this Homeric epic with a shorter version. An Iliad, by Alessandro Baricco and translated from Italian by Ann Goldstein, was actually more enjoyable and ultimately will be more memorable than the original.

Baricco's novel provides all the plot points, characters, and flavor of the original but at a fraction of the length and with a couple of variations that enhance the overall story. He has eliminated the Greek Gods as characters--mortals may invoke them or attribute actions to them--but they are not actual characters. Each chapter is told from the point-of-view of a specific character. Sometimes Achilles is telling his side of the story, sometimes Agammemnon, Hector, Cassandra, Patroclus, etc. My favorite was when the River talked about its view of this blip upon its historical presence in the region. These two changes, in addition to the much shorter length, are effective because they make the story more realistic and relatable. Without the Greek Gods as characters constantly interfering and acting out their own petty rivalries and serving as an excuse for bad or good luck, and with the perspective of the different characters explaining their motivation, desires, and fears, I felt closer to the story and felt it was closer to me.

In the introduction, Baricco outlines the origin of the project--it began as an attempt to read Homer's Iliad aloud to a live audience and it quickly became apparent that it needed to be edited and the result is a retelling that is more accessible for most modern readers.

I am not quibbling with the point that reading the "original" version is valuable--understanding that four millenia and language separate us from the original in whatever form it was--but not everyone has the time, motivation, or interest to do so. I think An Iliad is a wonderful way for modern readers to experience one of the stories that has served as a foundation for western literature.

Final note--in his afterword, Baricco waxed poetic about how The Iliad is a paean to war. I ended up skimming this section because I just didn't buy it. As the author of An Iliad, I guess I need to respect his thoughts on the source material, but reading An Iliad simply cemented in my mind the frustration I feel at the utter waste represented by the Trojan War, and most wars for that matter, on both sides. I will always be Team Hector and An Iliad didn't change my stance on that.

The Song of Achilles

When I first read about Madeline Miller's debut novel, The Song of Achilles, a few years ago, I immediately put it on my TBR list, but it took my son reading it and loving it to make me move it to the top of the list and I'm so glad I did as it is my favorite book read in 2016!

Based loosely on The Iliad, Miller tells the story of the Trojan war from the perspective of Patroclus, friend and lover of Achilles, and what emerges is that this shy, awkward, exiled prince is the real hero of the Trojan war.  But to tell the story, Miller has to go back to childhoods of both Patroclus and Achilles, and tell us how and why they became friends and how that friendship evolved into a deep and abiding love.

As I read, I regularly checked the internet to see how Miller's telling of the story lined up with the myth cannon of Achilles and I was thrilled that each event she fleshed out was thoroughly grounded.  For some reason that mattered to me--I guess what I'm getting at is that Homer created a legendary world and Miller's story was consistent with that world.

I also thought Miller dealt with the gods beautifully--larger than life, more beautiful than bearable, but heavy with the burden of immortality.  The gods of Homer, and hence Miller, are not lovable, awful, yes, but not warm.  There's one part where Apollo appears atop a wall of Troy and the writing is just wonderful--it gave me a perfect image of how the immortals pushed through the fabric of the human world at will.

My favorite part is when Patroclus and Achilles are still young and are apprenticed to Chiron, a centaur on Mt Pelion. They sleep in caves, play on the mountain, and basically live an idyllic life until, of course, Paris ruins everything by stealing Helen from Menelaus.  Achilles as the best Greek warrior is pressured into joining the expedition to steal Helen back, and Patroclus, bound by a promise he made when he was a child, also goes, though he is no warrior.

I also loved the character Breseis, one of the Trojan women captured by the Greeks, who becomes one of Achilles' prizes, as in spoils of war.  Besides Patroclus, she is my favorite character.

Achilles, of course, is hard to love.  He is too beautiful, too effortlessly strong and swift and sure, too godlike and too arrogant to be loved, except by Patroclus.  His pride, his vanity, his thirst for fame render him unlikeable, just as in Homer's version.  And yet, Patroclus' love for Achilles is completely believeable.  Patroclus loves Achilles, as he is, without reserve but also without blinders.

Endings are hard, but again I think Miller did a masterful job in ending her telling of the legend.  The conversation between Achilles' goddess mother, Thetis, and Patroclus' ghost was a perfect way to resolve the story arc and bring it to a satisfying close.

Really a beautiful story about friendship, love, honor, and family and the messes that we mortals get ourselves into.