The Song of Achilles

I needed a book for my desk at work to read on my many poop breaks. I decided on The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. I believe it is a novelized version of The Illiad. I’m not too far in yet. It is told from the perspective of Patroclus (at least the first chapters are). The narrative is a little grim, dark even. But I get the feeling it is going to be a fun little read. Already I am being reacquainted with a long forgotten cast of Greek kings and heroes.

The manner in which I came to pick up the book is probably amusing to me at least. I have a quiet, introverted nephew. My step mother was questioning him about what he wanted for Christmas. He told her he was interested in learning Dungeons & Dragons but didn’t really know what he needed to get started. As he tends to be quiet, she was thrilled to have something to talk to him about. Knowing how much I used to play, my step mother reached out to me for advice, which then lead to a little nostalgic memory walk for the two of us. My original role-playing days were 30 years ago. By strange coincidence, I just dusted off my old books and started playing again shortly before COVID-19 struck. I got her on the path for the latest revisions of all the basic rulebooks. I got him a 100-sided for kicks, as well. In with the gifts that were sent to my family was The Song of Achilles. It apparently was something my nephew had asked for. Assuming that we had similar tastes, she got a copy for me too.