The recap
Patroclus is an awkward, unremarkable young prince who has always disappointed his father, and after a terrible accident he is exiled to the court of King Peleus in Phthia, one of many unwanted boys raised there. Among them shines Achilles, the king's golden son, half divine, quick, beautiful and effortlessly gifted, who for reasons no one understands chooses Patroclus as his companion. Their friendship deepens into love as they grow up, study with the wise centaur Chiron on Mount Pelion, and live in the shadow of Thetis, Achilles' sea-goddess mother, who thinks a mortal of low status unworthy of her son. Beyond their mountain idyll, the coming war with Troy is already calling heroes to its ships. Told in Patroclus's gentle, observant voice, Miller's debut turns the Iliad into an intimate story of devotion, jealousy and courage. Her prose is clear and lyrical, and even readers who know the old story find themselves hoping.
Why read it
For readers who love mythology made tender and human, and for anyone who wants a queer love story with the sweep of an epic.
Fun facts
- 01
Miller's debut novel won the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction, which came with £30,000 and a bronze figurine known as the Bessie.
- 02
She spent about ten years writing the book while working as a teacher of Greek and Latin.
- 03
Nearly a decade after publication it went viral on BookTok; in Canada, sales rose from about 26,000 copies in 2020 to 101,000 the following year.
