I’m in the same boat as you - I read Circe first and right after the birth of my first child at the start of the pandemic so it really resonated with me. I’d read a few feminist Greek myth retellings so I had a pretty negative bias against Patroclus and Achilles going in which probably didn’t help.

I mean I’m on classics Twitter and book Twitter and the retelling of story with rape at the center of it has already been a bad take machine several times, and the most popular writer in the myth retelling space is probably going to make certain corners of the internet implode

ETA: and once upon the time I was a part-time professional classicist who was paid to write about sex in the ancient world and I am extremely hesitant to use the word “rape” because they don’t have an equivalent term. The Latin “raptus” does mean rape, but it most generally means “seizure” wherein forced sexual congress could be implied there. Women in the ancient world didn’t have agency over their bodies and it was their captors exercising their authority over them rather their husbands or fathers (unless the captors became their husbands and then it was legally ok). The wants of the woman rarely figured into the story, one way or another. There was actual material loss in illicit sex and that is why stories, like Terence’s the Eunuch, feature women marrying their rapists as a happy ending. Conversely, wanted sex could be a bad thing as it could ruin a woman’s chances for a husband and thus financial stability.

(Also it’s easy to dismiss an obsession over social prospects, but that is all women had. For a modern equivalent, remember a time in your life where everything was going your way and you were excited for your future, and then imagine if you were raped that you would lose whatever it is that made you excited and you would still have to deal with a fallout from rape. Some of your tears will be for the rape, others for the future you wanted that you weren’t getting anymore.)

Anyway, the story of Persephone, in every telling, is what we would describe as rape. Girl, field, mother, tears. Even if Miller handles it deftly, loud corners of the internet will not.

Same some of those lines ! They are just so memorable. SoA is just a good book and a great romance, it doesn't matter what your gender is to appreciate it.

I actually was recommended palace of illusions and read benarjee's other book too and thought she did the trope justice, is the prose of kaikeyi good ?

oh yeah for sure, im a straight man too. Not saying only gay people can enjoy it, but i think that some people have a hard time relating to patroclus and his story

I've heard that some people find it harder to relate to patroclus. I relate to him and his story in a lot of ways i've never seen in a book before

What do you mean?

Circe is a good choice. Enjoy!

I loved both! I also really enjoyed her new short story Galatea. I will read anything she writes.

I’m a straight man and I thought it was a great book.

It feels like people tend to like one more than the other. I personally adored Circe, but only found Achilles to be decent.

Liked SOA, LOVED Circe…. Enjoy!

The Silence of the Girls is a fantastic book.

Thank you for sharing. I hope her health improves soon.

I didn’t like Song of Achilles much… Circe was amazing!

Reading Circe right now- I like it a lot but not as much as SoA!

I loved Circe but SoA left a hole in my soul (in a good way, but still)

Just finished Song of Achilles today as well! It was so wonderful!

To be honest that was exactly my situation going into the book and it’s one of my favorite books of all time now. I was inspired to read The Odyssey after finishing it and I can say I definitely enjoyed Miller’s prose more than Fagles’

I think this is true. I cried so much, I still think about those last chapters randomly.

Thank you for the rec! I really love myrhs/fairy tales retold.

Anxiety medication has helped me a lot with racing thoughts, hopefully it's the same for you. Other than that I would say try getting as physically and mentally comfortable as you can before reading. If you're stressed, anxious, fatigued, etc it will be hard to concentrate and read. Take a shower to relax muscles and nerves, get into comfy clothes, turn on some music works for me. Try to limit distractions as well. I read a lot easier if my phone is off and away from me. Last suggestion is to try to sleep better. Fatigue and eye strain make it very hard to focus eyes. An extra hour or two of sleep helps out a ton for my mood and ability to focus. I hope some of this helps, I know the struggle.

I didn’t think SoA would be my cup of tea but I loved that book. Adding Circe to the TBR list.

I read SoA for a project in my senior year of high school and I absolutely adored it! I had to force myself to not read it during class because I'd start crying 😭

I was going to write that too! I love that book too. I knew nothing at all about Indian mythology and was completely fascinated by it. Beautiful story.