Staff Picks – Novels by Madeline Miller
Madeline Miller is fantastic author you might want to check out. She has two fabulous novels which several of Lewis & Clark Library staff have enjoyed. If you’re into Greek mythology and history, and even if you’re not, Madeline Miller knows how to tell a captivating story.
Sally and Rachel recommend . . . 
The Song of Achilles (2011)
by Madeline Miller
Sally says:
If I could pick one book to forget so I could experience reading it for the first time again, it would undoubtedly be The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Written in a way that transports you to the Greek Heroic Age, Achilles retells Homer's Illiad from the perspective of Patroclus. It is, at its core, Patroclus and Achilles' love story, following them from childhood through the Trojan War. If it's any indication of how impacted I was by this book, my ID photo will forever bear the puffy-eyed evidence of my 3 a.m. sob session as I raced to finish. I wish I could have savored it more, but it was impossible to put down. I was drawn in because of my deep love for Greek mythology, and you'll encounter familiar characters like Odysseus and Agamemnon, Hector and Thetis. That said, I'd recommend this title to anyone, whether you're a Homer buff or you really hated your Odyssey unit in high school. It's a love story, an epic, and a tragedy in one, and certainly a read that will stick with you long after you're done. Circe, Miller's follow-up book, has all the lyricism and excitement as Achilles, so you don't have to leave the world of the Greeks right away when you've finished with Patroclus. Though, let's be honest, he's not a character that will leave you anytime soon.
Rachel says:
This book is phenomenal from the opening line to the last. The story of Achilles is well known but Miller takes her own spin on this classic tale and I couldn't stop listening to it. The Song of Achilles is one of those books that, like Sally said, I also wish I could go back and listen to for the first time over and over. Other renditions of this classic tale don't hold a candle to Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles. I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook!
Find The Song of Achilles in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Axis 360 eBook
Montana Library2Go eBook and eAudiobook
Hoopla eBook and eAudiobook
Bretagne recommends . . . 
Circe (2018)
by Madeline Miller
Set in ancient Greece follow along with Circe, the daughter of Helios, as she does not fit in with the Gods and turns to mortals for friendship. There she finds her true powers but ends up in a life between the gods and the mortals and must choose between the two worlds.
Find Circe in the library catalog Here
Also available in digital format:
Axis 360 eBook and eAudiobook
Montana Library2Go eBook and eAudiobook
Interview with Madeline Miller at the Chicago Humanities Festival Here
Have you already read The Song of Achilles and Circe? Are you wondering what to read next? Stay tuned for the next blog post featuring some suggestions and ways to find similar books to read.