THE BEST YAOI I HAVE EVER READ
EDIT - Shit, the cut isn't working! i'm so sorry, everyone, for this super-long entry!!! Y____Y
At first i didn't even want to talk about this, you know. Because i'm so scared that i won't be able to do justice to how wonderful this book actually is.
It's like... trying to explain what i like so much about GACKT. i usually don't want to, because i know i can't.
but then i thought... let me try. Coz someone might just get convinced enough to want to buy it too.
So, here goes-
THE BEST YAOI I'VE EVER READ
or
THE YAOI BOOK THAT EVEN YAOI-HATERS LIKE
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Amazon Link (Please buy it please buy it!)
Greece, in the age of Heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia. Here he is nobody, just another unwanted boy living in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles.
Achilles, 'best of all the Greeks', is everything Patroclus is not -- strong, beautiful, the child of a goddess -- and by all rights their paths should never cross. Yet one day, Achilles takes the shamed prince under his wing and soon their tentative companionship gives way to a steadfast friendship. As they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms into something far deeper...
This book is the most beautiful piece of writing I have read in recent times. Madeline Miller breathes life into the legend of the Greek hero Achilles and brings him and his world alive. She takes the legend of the Trojan War (Helen, Paris, Troy, Achilles, etc etc... oh you know... you've all watched Brad Pitt in Troy!) and infuses it with a very modern, humanitarian approach to the idea of war. She even makes hubris (heroic arrogance/pride) believable in the modern context.
Nothing, really, is new in the story per se - we all know the legend of Helen of Troy, so we know what's going to happen in the end.But what I loved about this book is the fact that it's a very simply told tale. She talks about emotions like love, fear and loss. She talks about adolescent love and longing - something which we can all identify with. she talks about the weak boy who is bullied by his peers - in fact, the first part of this book can almost be called a very good YA book, because it explores adolescent problems, awkwardness, sexuality etc so beautifully and with so much tenderness.
the heroic bit comes later - and that too is treated keeping in mind modern ethics, modern notions of good and evil and modern ideas of humanitarianism and peace. and yet, the original epic is not compromised - which actually shows the greatness of the original composer of the Iliad - Homer - because Homer (and the Greeks in general) was such an amazing thinker, that what he said all those centuries back is still relevant today. Yeah, the credit goes equally to Homer and to Madeline Miller, LOL.
the icing on the cake (and the cherry on top, LOL!) is that the book is essentially a yaoi love story.
though there are hints of a relationship between Achilles and Patroclus in the Iliad and otherwise, i don't think it was an explicit thing (even though the Greeks greatly respected Man-Boy love ie pederastia) and i don't think it's an aspect of Achilles' history which has been explored very much (which is why the film Troy could weave a love story between Achilles and Briseis, i guess.).
so it was amazing to read this. an endorsement for this book says, "A ravishingly vivid and convincing version of one of the most legendary of love stories." - here, the reviewer is probably talking about the Helen-Paris romance, but i want to think that she is talking about Achilles and Patroclus - because their story has been told so exquisitely in this book, that it does seem like an immortal, legendary love story. from their love, and longing, and commitment... right up to their tragic end - it's just such a joy to read about their relationship. and, LOL, the sex is wonderful too.
it's a proper yaoi novel ... and yet! non-yaoi lovers will like it too, i think. my mom does not like yaoi - she's one of those people who want to pretend that homosexuality doesn't exist (sigh... she doesn't dislike gay people, she just doesn't want them to flaunt their gayness. which is a kind of homophobia, i agree... though it's much milder than some other forms). when she was reading this book, i didn't tell her that it was about homosexuality - i just really wanted her to read it! and when she finished it, she told me that she cried in the end, LOL! and now, she's obsessed with all things Greek, and she has made me drag my Iliad and Odyssey and Aeneid and Oresteia LOLOL! i'm happy.
So... this is one of those books which linger, long after you've finished reading it. I was lost in the beauty of their romance for days after i finished reading it.
So... read it. I'm reading it all over again, LOL.
Click to viewThis is the Youtube Video for the book.
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i had a really nice dream last night. i dreamt that i was in this huge covered place, which was full of people - it could have been an airport or a railway station or a concert lobby, i dunno. anyway, but i could hear the echoes of 'The End of The Day' playing somewhere at a distance, and i'm running towards it. i have a handbag in one hand and a trolley suitcase (pink!) in the other, which i'm dragging. i'm running running running - navigating my way through the crowds... running as fast as i can. i'm dying to reach the place where the song is playing, and i'm feeling desperate, but also exhilarated and very excited. i'm running towards something good and amazing - probably a G concert! though i didn't think that in the dream - in the dream i know what i'm running towards, so i don't bother thingking about it - i'm just... running.
LOL, i woke up feeling really good!
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I've been reading Inuyasha, and it's amazing and addictive! i'm amazed at the HUGE array of monsters in that manga - are they all tradition japanese manga or are some of them the Mangaka's own creation?