I bought this on a bit of a whim a few years ago, and then promptly never picked it up because I was afraid it might be the kind of book that hurts too much to read. I had a train journey a few weeks ago and this book fit nicely in my bag, so I took it, and finally read it. And it sort of was the kind of book that hurts too much to read, but I'm still glad I read it.

The language here is just really without peer, and I've yet to read a retelling of the Iliad which deals with Thetis' plight so well as this one does. If I had to pick anything to criticise, it would be that Cook glosses over Patroclus almost entirely, and that there's a lot of references to rape which, although thematically appropriate here, do sometimes jar, especially when we're supposed to relate to characters who are capable of such awful things. Still, this is a slim and fruitful retelling of the Iliad, and it humanises some of the more demonised characters in interesting ways.