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Madeline Miller - The Song of Achilles

James Naughtie and a group of readers talk to Madeline Miller about The Song of Achilles which is a retelling of Homer's Iliad. The novel won the Orange Prize for Fiction 2012.

James Naughtie and Madeline Miller discuss her debut novel The Song of Achilles which won the Orange Prize for Fiction 2012.

In The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller presents a love story against the backdrop of the Trojan war - between Achilles, leading the Greek army, and his best friend Patroclus. Her imagined relationship between the two men explains the emotional support that Achilles gets from Patroclus, the strength of the bond between them and the depth of Achilles' grief at his friend's death.

Recorded with a group of invited readers.

October's Bookclub Choice : A Death in the Family by Karl Ove Knausgaard (2014)

Presenter : James Naughtie
Interviewed Guest : Madeline Miller
Producer : Dymphna Flynn.

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28 minutes

Last on

Thu 6 Sep 2018 15:30

Broadcasts

  • Sun 2 Sep 2018 16:00
  • Thu 6 Sep 2018 15:30

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