Achilles’s Wife: A Novel of Greek Myth Retelling (Trojan Threads)
Achilles, celebrated as the greatest Greek warrior of the Trojan War, is destined to die an early death as prophesied by an oracle. At age fifteen, his fierce sea goddess mother, Thetis, hides away this tall, muscular robust lad on the rocky island realm of Skyros, disguised as a girl, Pyrrha. Princess Deidamia (Mia) of Skyros, feeling constrained in the women’s quarters, and Pyrrha, suffering dysphoria, secretly leave the palace together for adventures in the outside world. As their friendship blossoms, Mia becomes aware her people are starving while palace stores of grain remain full, and she challenges her father. There’s also a strange attraction between them, which becomes increasingly erotic once Pyrrha is returned to male form and renamed Pyrrhus. The author hints at bisexuality as Pyrrhus (Achilles) craves the company of Patroclus to train together as warriors.
Told from Mia’s point of view, the story is visual and heartfelt. We see beyond the virile warrior in his tenderness towards her and his telling her stories of Chiron the centaur teaching him healing arts, music, and poetry in addition to wisdom and weaponry. Mia becomes a skilled negotiator with the traders who frequent the island, also bringing news of the coming war. Although Starkston reinterprets the myth about his early life, Achilles cannot escape his fate, sailing off to Troy with the wily Odysseus. In Part II, Mia is a single mother dealing with an unruly child, Neoptolemus, who towers above her, an easily angered, volatile youth of twelve with contempt for all mortals, especially the villagers. Not a great candidate to rule someday. What if Achilles had not gone to war? Could he have guided his son? How much influence can a mother have? Starkston spent three weeks living on Skyros, which contributes to the authentic feel, and to her vivid descriptions as she immerses the reader in life in ancient Greece.
