SONG OF ACHILLES by Madeline Miller, 2012.

Miller provides an absorbing retelling of the story concerning the ancient Greek hero Achilles in her new novel: the story is told through the eyes of Patroclus, Achilles' best friend and constant companion from childhood. Using Homer's work as her basis, she pretty much adheres to the usual version of events, but places her own stamp on them by focusing on the relationship of the two men, with each other and with others in their orbit.
  Becoming acquainted as mere boys when the young prince Patroclus is exiled from his father's tiny kingdom for accidentally killing another boy, Achilles and Patroclus over time become the best of friends. When Achilles' father, King Peleus, sends Achilles to the aged centaur Chiron for his education, Patroclus ends up following and being accepted as a pupil as well. As they grow into young adulthood in the mountainous retreat, learning about warfare and healing and survival, their emotional bond grows as well, leading later to a physical relationship. Achilles' mother, the goddess Thetis, a totally cold and unemotional character who wants to keep her son at a superior level to be worthy of being Aristos Achaion--"best of the Greeks"--has ever had it in for Patroclus and continually tries to come between the two, even resorting to attempted murder of her son's only friend.
   The story turns more familiar when the beautiful Helen is kidnapped from Menelaus in Sparta and taken to Troy, war is declared by Agamemnon, the High King of Greece, and all who are allied must go to fight. Odysseus and Diomedes search for Achilles, as it is known that Troy will not fall without his help. Mother Thetis, knowing all the dark prophecies about her son's life, has hidden him in King Lycomedes' court, dressed as a woman, hoping that he can avoid his destiny, but he is discovered, and he and Patroclus join the war. Achilles leaves behind a son, Pyrrhus, who will later play out his own destiny at Troy.
   While the centuries-old saga of the Trojan War may be familiar to many, Miller adds new dimensions to the cast of characters, and brings forth those who have often remained in the background: the beautiful but hard Thetis, the captive maiden Briseis (who captures Patroclus' heart), the physician Machaon, the kindly and wise centaur Chiron, Achilles' charioteer Automedon, and others are here portrayed in proper context. Some of the more famous appear only briefly: Helen, Paris, Andromache, Priam, etc. I found it refreshing to read the story with the focus on less familiar characters who also took part in the conflict. Of course, at the center of the novel is Achilles, the golden hero, half human, half god, whom all believed was chosen to lead them to victory at Troy and who came to realize after his first battle that "this is what I was born for"; and Patroclus, generous and tender-hearted and un-soldierlike, who loved and supported his comrade, and who with his own actions ultimately found his place in history as well.
   I found Miller's storytelling skills superb; her writing is spare and simple, yet elegant, conveying a wonderful sense of time and place; her characters are full blooded and real; the historical details are meticulously researched. The reader experiences the changing relationship of two young boys that comes to fruition during a horrendous war, the values of friendship and loyalty and honesty, the screams of dying men and horses on the blood-and-gore soaked plains of Troy, the terrific misuse of absolute power, and the violence and brutality of a long ago age. While the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus may be off-putting to some readers, I felt the author handled it in an understated and quite inoffensive way. I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Trojan War and who would enjoy a well-told story from a different point of view. I found it a very beautiful rendering of a very old story.

We watched the Coen Brothers' "True Grit" (2010) over this past weekend, and although we enjoyed it, I personally think the older version from 1969 was more emotionally satisfying as a film. Although the Coens' attempt was very successful, and in actuality is said to be closer to the original book (which I haven't read), I had several problems with it, enough that I still like the original version better. The story (taken from Charles Portis' 1968 novel) is basically this: young Mattie Ross' father is shot to death, she comes to town to find the killer,Tom Chaney, and take revenge, and she hires Cogburn to help her. The Texas Ranger LaBeouf joins them and the three journey into Indian territory to track down Chaney, and discover they must deal with other criminals, the elements, and rattlesnakes.
   My major issue with this film is that, even though Jeff Bridges was actually surprisingly good in the role, he can't hold a candle to John Wayne's portrayal of Rooster Cogburn. No way, no how. Wayne took that part and made it his own and is well remembered for it. I know Bridges won an award for his acting in this picture, but I still prefer John Wayne's acting in this over his, and Wayne won his only Oscar for this role. Wayne was the very image of Cogburn, and he magnificently created a larger than life portrayal of the character, with all his foibles and strengths and colorful language. Another problem for me was the ending: it just wasn't as satisfying to me as in the older version. I have read that the Coen film is much closer to the book, and that's commendable, I just believe the older movie has a more satisfying conclusion concerning the three main characters of Cogburn, Mattie Ross, and LaBeouf. This film's ending left me feeling kind of cold and unsatisfied or like a promise went unfulfilled.
  Still, I found it a worthwhile film and I'm glad I watched it. I will say that Hailee Stanfeld's performance as young Mattie was excellent, and she deserves all the accolades she received for her work. She was wonderful to watch on screen, and her interaction with Bridges, Matt Damon (LaBoeuf) and Josh Brolin (Tom Chaney) was believable, interesting, and entertaining. The movie was beautifully filmed, mostly on location, and the Coen Brothers evidently paid great attention to detail. On the whole, an enjoyably diverting film, but for those of us who remember the original movie with a certain fondness, this version just doesn't quite measure up.

THE FOREST LAIRD: A TALE OF WILLIAM WALLACE by Jack Whyte, 2010.

I picked this up solely by the cover art and author recognition, read the flap and was hooked. Whyte is a noted author of historical fiction, and this novel is part of a new trilogy he's writing, "The Guardians," which will concern the Scottish wars for freedom from England. This book concerns the life of William Wallace, known to many from the "Braveheart" film made some years ago.

   Whyte's book shows he has done his research. Not much of fact is known about William Wallace, but Whyte makes use of what is known and other historical detail about Scotland and its affairs in the 1290s to create his portrait of Will and without bogging down the pace of the story. The novel is told from the point of view of Wallace's cousin, Jamie Wallace, who becomes the cleric librarian/priest Father James. When the two cousins are young boys, English attack the Wallace homestead, killing Wallace's parents and sister, Will and Jamie are abused by the English, and then manage to flee and are taken in by the archer Ewan Scrymgeour, who nurtures and helps guide their futures. Eventually, they are reunited with family, educated at a local monastery, and years later they separate to fulfill their destinies: Jamie to be a priest/librarian, and Will to be an archer of uncommon talents. By the time they are young adults, Scotland is in crisis: the Scots king dies leaving a young heiress named the Maid of Norway who is drowned on her way to take the throne; Edward I of England is invited into Scotland to help settle the dispute between the claimants John Balliol and Robert Bruce; even after John is named King of Scots, the English presence remains and creates mayhem and havoc; and there begins a grassroots surge of folk who wish to drive the English out of Scotland and reclaim their freedom. But without a strong leader, there are multiple factions who don't cooperate and thus create more confusion and misery for all the populace. Wallace, meanwhile marries the love of his life, and begins to lead the life of an outlaw and fugitive on the border, his hatred of the English nurtured by such as Bishop Robert Wishart, but determined to remain apart from the fighting as long it stays away from his door and until a strong leader emerges to engage the English. Jamie moves in and out of his life, supportive of Will and his family, but knowing that eventually the chaos that exists in Scotland will have to be resolved and Wallace must help. And then the terrible day arrives with horrific and heartrending force...and Jamie and Will are forced into action.
   Whyte does a wonderful job of making medieval Scotland come alive as a place of great beauty and harshness, with its volatile politics concerning France and England, its powerful lairds and barons, its rising middle class and the poverty ridden peasants. His characters are colorful, vibrant, and realistically portrayed: his hero Will is conflicted, high minded and compassionate, yet also savage, unforgiving, and violent. Highly readable, with excellent pacing and great storytelling, filled with action and savage violence, gross injustice, love and patriotism, this is a hugely entertaining saga of an enormously talented and strong leader of the Scots people who over time became almost a myth and somewhat neglected by historians but who evidently still lives in Scottish memory as a national hero.

I finally saw "Captain America" (2011) last night on DVD. While it's certainly not the best action hero movie I've ever seen, I think that Chris Evans did a credible job as Steve Rogers, the somewhat puny guy who wants to serve his country and fight the Nazis, and ends up becoming an experimental soldier. He's supported by Tommy Lee Jones, who has an important role as Colonel Phillips, and the English Hayley Atwell is pretty to look at as the love interest, although the whole idea that she would participate in the operation as she did in those times came off as a bit unbelievable. Hugo Weaving (with that horrific red face--yuck), is fun to watch as the madman villain who wants to rule the world--he makes Hitler look mild in comparison--and Toby Jones as his sidekick was interesting. I liked the fact that the character who becomes Iron Man's father, Howard Stark, has a major role in this film as one of Rogers' cronies, that added to it for me.
   The plot--was there one? did it matter?--it was basically that Weaving's character, Red Skull, wanted a crystal that contained the most terrible and awesome force ever seen on earth (the occult powers of the Norse Gods), and when he got it, he would go completely into conquering mode and change the globe to suit himself. The transformed Rogers, who has been paraded around as some sort of symbol of United States heroism and freedom, is called upon to battle Nazis and then to stop Red Skull, along with a crack team to help him. Once they discover in fact that Red Skull and his evil organization HYDRA have captured this item and are on the move, they have to lead the fight for freedom and destroy them. Lots of action, explosions, shootings, dead bodies, a real thrilling ride. Although it started out a little slow with the set up, the pace definitely picked up after Evans was transformed into the bulked up soldier-hero who eventually gets his wish to fight for his country. As someone who did not grow up as a Captain America fan--I was more into Superman and Spider Man--I don't have any particular problems with this film that his true fans might. With pretty awesome special effects, a personable hero, a wickedly nasty villain, and a preposterously fantastic storyline, I found it an enjoyable way to spend a few hours. I would say it's worth a watch on DVD when you have a chance.