Achilles A Novel

Born of god and king and hidden as a girl until Odysseus discovers him, Achilles becomes the Greeks' greatest warrior at Troy. Into his story comes a cast of fascinating characters'”among them Hector, Helen, Penthiselaia the Amazon Queen, and the centaur Chiron; and finally John Keats, whose writings form the basis of a meditation on the nature of identity and shared experience. Achilles is an affirmation of the story's enduring power to reach across centuries and cultures to the core of our imagination. Elizabeth Cook has published short fiction and poetry as well as scholarly works on Renaissance literature, and has also written and presented for television and the theatre. Formerly a university lecturer, she has edited the works of John Keats. She lives London. An Atlantic Montly Best Book of the Year This beautifully crafted retelling of the epic tale of Achilles recreates Homer''s fated hero in a new and striking reality. Born of the Sea nymph Thetis by the mortal King Peleus, and hidden as a girl until Odysseus discovers him, Achilles becomes the Greeks'' greatest warrior at Troy. Into his story comes a cast of rich (and sometimes surprising) characters'”among them Hector, Helen, Penthiseleia the Amazon Queen, the centaur Chiron, and finally John Keats, whose writings form the basis of a meditation on the nature of identity and shared experience. As a work of fiction, Achilles is also an affirmation of the story''s enduring power to reach across centuries and cultures to the core of our imagination. "Unfailingly modern: swift, cinematic, sexually explicit, and ravishingly beautiful. This poetic masterpiece, a psychologically acute portrait of the Homeric hero Achilles . . . imbues [Homer] with a post-Freudian emotional sensibility, focusing more on the nuances of individual motivation than on the grandeur of the action."'” The Atlantic Monthly "This forceful re-creation of the life of Achilles sacrifices nothing to modernity . . . At the same time, this brief, intense novel is unmistakably modern in intent . . . Fragments of keen, almost carnal prose have the cumulative effect of a requiem."'” The New Yorker "[A] dazzling, graphic vision . . . gives splendid new life to this ancient tale."'” The Miami Herald "Erudite, passionate, and not the least bit pretentious. Cook has impressively transformed the legend of Achilles into something entirely her own, a thoroughly modern study of masculinity, mortality, and honor."'” Carmela Ciuraru, San Francisco Chronicle "Everything in this novel, except the number of pages, is larger than life, and in reading it we are returned to our own lives with a sense of larger possibility. This bright, fierce book reminds us that art can be consoling and that, however grievous, however inevitable our losses, we do not bear them alone."'” Margot Livesey, The Boston Sunday Globe "This welcome retelling of Achilles'' career'”savage yet sensitive, headstrong yet doomed'”impels him to death, but Elizabeth Cook''s vivid narrative, together with John Keats waiting in the wings, restores the Homeric hero to his rightful, impassioned life."'” Robert Fagles, translator of Homer''s The Iliad and The Odyssey "Unfailingly modern: swift, cinematic, sexually explicit, and ravishingly beautiful. This poetic masterpiece, a psychologically acute portrait of the Homeric hero Achilles . . . imbues [Homer] with a post-Freudian emotional sensibility, focusing more on the nuances of individual motivation than on the grandeur of the action."'” The Atlantic Monthly "Elizabeth Cook has met the challenge of retelling the Achilles story with thrilling audacity and has given us a novel of great beauty and originality. A heroic book, radiant with intelligence and passion."'” Sigrid Nunez, author of For Rouenna "Cook''s Achilles shimmers between poetry and prose, myth and memory, an age-old story and a startlingly modern imagination. It is uncanny in the best sense of the word."'” Emily Barton, author of The Test

Elizabeth Cook has published short fiction and poetry, as well as scholarly works on Renaissance literature. She has also written for television and the theater. She lives in London. This is her first novel.