I´m now at 49% and finally, they are going to war. Odysseus is back and he is such a great character. I´m expecting the worst in regards to the romance, though. It makes me want to pull my hair out ;)

I think I will start with the Illiad tonight. I´m quite excited about it, I have never read anything by Homer before.

If you really dig Odysseus, I think you might prefer the Odyssey to the Iliad.

I'm planning on reading the Odyssey, too :). If I'm not wrong Odysseus gets lost on the sea after the Trojan war, right?

That's right. Iliad first, then the Odyssey. :)

Which edition are you reading?

Also, is the Song of Achilles really a YA novel? I totally missed this. I would not have been as excited about it as I was?

The initial 150 pages feel like a YA novel, with them growing up together, their developing relationship and they way the characters of Achilles and Petroclus are written. But it's not marketed as that. Maybe I will be fine with the rest of the book.

I'm reading the edition from my post. It's a prose version by Insel Verlag. I have to admit, for a German book it has a stunning cover.

Just so you know what I´m talking about: Patroclus has just learned that Achilles is doomed. Btw, I don´t know how to write something in italics in the comments. So where I have written italics, those sentences are in italics ;)

"The room turned grey, then white. The bed felt cold without him, and too large. I heard no sounds, and the stillness frightened me. (italics) It´s like a tomb. I rose and rubbed my limbs, slapped them awake, trying to ward of a rising hysteria. (italics) This is what it will be, every day."

I´m sorry, but he is so pathetic.

That Iliad edition is a stunner indeed. I love that cover. I hope you like the contents just as much.

As for the description of Patroclus, ... yeah I can see how he is likely to be annoying.

Thanks for the recommendation :). I think I will give Trojan war retellings a pass in the future, though. Based on the first 50 pages of the Illiad, Homer´s work seems to be far superior than any retelling out there. Plus I really didn´t like Marion Zimmer Bradley´s "The Mist of Avalon".

I didn't like Mists of Avalon either - too long winded. Firebrand was the first time I ever came across the Trojan war story - think I was 11 or something like that.