Song of Achilles is a retelling of the Trojan War from the point of view of Patroclus, Achilles’s lover. It’s an interesting change in perspective, told well and with a gripping attention to detail. The story is infused with the thick miasma of self-doubt that comes from being little more than the companion to one of history’s best-remembered figures. Patroclus is, let’s put the matter generously, something of a loser. Until, that is, he befriends Briseis, who is a war captive. Something about that friendship brings out Patroclus’s personality in a way that Achilles never seems to - it’s odd but somehow fitting.

For all that I enjoyed the book and found it fascinating and enjoyable, I was less than impressed. I think because I had read Circe before and found it much more imaginative and interesting - in a way I was spoiled. Whereas Circe filled in a lot of blanks in Greek myth, Song of Achilles mostly recapitulated the Iliad from a slightly off-center angle. Whereas Circe contemplated the problem of immortality and eternity thoroughly, Song of Achilles skated by the larger questions of fate and fame that frame Achilles’s life. On the whole, this book felt a little lacking.

There is certainly something enjoyable about a modern take on the Iliad from a new point of view, so I would still say this book has its moments. But on the whole I prefer Circe by a good margin.