The Song of Achilles
This is the story of the seige of Troy from the perspective of Achilles best-friend Patroclus. Although Patroclus is outcast from his home for disappointing his father he manages to be the only mortal who can keep up with the half-God Archilles. Even though many will know the facts behind the story the telling is fresh and engaging.
Stats for nerds
3recommend
4mentions
4people
2020–2025years
75% recommend25% neutral
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- I really enjoyed this article but the claim of no literary fiction making the Publishers Weekly yearly top 10 lists since 2001 isn't really true:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publishers_Weekly_list_of_best...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publishers_Weekly_list_of_best...
It is true that there isn't that much literary stuff that breaks through, and the stuff that does is usually somewhat crossover (e.g., All the Light We Cannot See in 2015 or Song of Achilles in 2021) but it exists. These two books are shelved under literary codes (though also historical). Song of Achilles in particular is beautifully written and a personal favorite of mine, at least among books published in recent years.
Then there are other works like Little Fires Everywhere and The Midnight Library that I might not consider super literary but nonetheless are also often considered so by book shops or libraries (e.g., https://lightsailed.com/catalog/book/the-midnight-library-a-...; the lit fic code is FIC019000).
I was really surprised that Ferrante's Neapolitan series, the best example (I would have thought) of recent work with both high literary acclaim and popular appeal, did not actually make the top 10 list for any year.
- The two recent books by Madeline Miller, "Circe" and "The Song of Achilles"
"Crossroads" Jonathan Franzen
"Agassi" Andre Agassi - I don't normally read sports memoirs, but this one came highly recommended by a woman author that I have read recently so I gave it a try. As a tennis fan who pretty much alway routed for the other player when he played (except when he played Pete Sampras), I found the book totally engaging. Highly recommended.
- I urge everyone with even a passing interest in Greek mythology to check out The Song of Achilles (2011) and then Circe (2018), both by Madeline Miller. She perfectly combines ancient stories with modern prose, and these are two of my favorite fantasy novels.
- Madeline Miller's book Circe touches on the same themes for parts of it. It was a very good read. I haven't read Song of Achilles yet.
