Wednesday 30 May 2012

The Song of Achilles wins Orange Prize 2012


I was so excited to see Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles announced as the winner of the 2012 Orange Prize earlier this evening. I haven't managed to read all of the shortlist but I've read the majority of it and also the majority of the longlist - Song of Achilles was by far the stand out book. It's a retelling of the Trojan war from the point of view of Patroclus, the close companion of Achilles, but it's also a beautiful love story that had me crying in the final chapters. I didn't expect to love this book but once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

You can read my review here.

I hope both Miller and Song of Achilles get all the attention they deserve as a result of winning the prize. If you've not read Song of Achilles yet, what are you waiting for?

16 comments:

  1. I thought of you immediately when I saw who won, just remembering how much you loved this book. I still haven't tracked down a copy, but definitely still will.

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    1. I have been pushing this book on to everyone I know for weeks now so I'm not surprised you thought of me :P

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  2. I was going to say that my TBR pile prevents me from checking it out at this time (which it kinda does), but I really think I have just overdone it on Trojan War books. I really want to read this, but I don't think I could appreciate it at the moment.

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    1. Best to wait until you are more in the mood for it then. What other Trojan War books would you recommend, out of interest?

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  3. Will definitely have to put this on my 'to read' list. I'm not normally that into this kind of book, but I'll try anything once!

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    1. Laura, I almost didn't read it because it's not my kind of book either. But it was most definitely worth going out of my comfort zone.

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  4. I actually put this one on hold at the library after reading your review. I've never read The Odyssey so I was a bit hesitant. It'll be ready any day now.

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    1. Ooh, how exciting. Can't wait to see what you think!

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  5. This is wonderful and also terrible! Now the line at the library queue will be a million miles long!

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    1. Haha, yes! I'm glad this is one of the shortlisted books I had already read as I imagine the queue has doubled or tripled overnight!

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  6. I obviously haven't kept up with the Orange Prize fiction this year because I haven't heard of the book before. It sounds like a great read though, and I love that cover!

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    1. It wasn't one of the most publicised books on the shortlist, so I'm glad winning the prize will bring the author and book more attention.

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  7. I've just finished reading this book and really enjoyed it. I haven't read all the other shortlisted books but I'm pleased to see this one has won.

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  8. Oooh, sounds good. Thanks for the heads up. I'll put it on my tbr. :)

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  9. It's amazing that we both got this right! I was at the airport waiting for my flight to Lyon and found out that Miller won the previous night. Happy for her. What a great prediction of yours it turned out to be. :)

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