Song of Achilles

When I was a freshman in high school, my friends and I made a video adaptation of The Odyssey with what was probably a 20-pound video camera. It involved a toilet, my family's swimming pool and my friend Donna doing a hilarious imitation of the gender-ambiguous character "Pat" from Saturday Night Live.

What does that have to do with anything? Well, that's my last touch with Greek mythology. For that reason, Song of Achilles wasn't on my radar and isn't a book I would naturally pick up off the shelf. In recent months, though, it kept coming up in random articles I read. Then, my insanely smart and well-read co-worker offered to loan it to me. I decided the Fates must be speaking to me and I gave it a shot.

Song of Achilles is a unique take on the Greek figure most of us only know about because of that tendon that bears his name. I remembered a bit about his story, but not a lot. For that reason, I was enthralled from the beginning and wasn't entirely aware that I was being taken on a unique journey.

This book is told not by Achilles, but by Patroclus. Patroclus is exiled as a child and ends up in the care of Achilles' father. The boys become friends in childhood, then become much more than that. Song of Achilles is about the Trojan war, but more than that, it's a love story between these two men. You follow their journey across the seas, all the while knowing, as they do, that a prophecy predicts Achilles' demise.

I predicted this book would be heavy-handed. I thought the mythology would put me off and that I'd never keep the characters straight. Instead, I fell in love with the love story between these two men and followed with them as their hearts grew heavy, knowing that death would end it all. And, I learned that it's possible to have a story with a surprise twist, even when the ending is foretold.

I've read some reviews from very smart New York Times people who hated this book and the romance with which it's told. I'm good with that. Sometimes, it's okay to love the love story and to get lost in it. But, Greek mythology purists whose experience with the genre go beyond high school class projects may not be able to suspend the weight of the original tales to really enjoy it.

As for me, I'm sticking to the genre and tonight will crack Circe - the new book by the same author. I'm about to find out if it's overkill.

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran

Have you seen that meme going around on Facebook this week that says the #1 song on your 14th birthday is the one that defines your life? It turned into an interesting discussion in our newsroom - which mainly served to show most of us how old we are. But, it also reminded us that the songs of our adolescence live forever, deep in the recesses of our hearts. They're the songs that bring you instantly back to a time and place - and, a feeling. There are songs from my teen years that I still can't listen to because they bring back memories of first heartbreak (The Tony Rich Project's Nobody Knows will bring me to my knees every time.) There are songs from college that remind me of late night house parties in dingy basements (Next "Too Close") and songs that remind me of childhood road trips with my family, every summer from Montana to Wisconsin (Kenny Rogers and Anne Murray's Greatest Hits are my mom's go-to JAMS.)

THAT is what Rob Sheffield's book is all about. Our adolescent years, those songs and how they help define who we are.

This is the 3rd of Sheffield's books that I've read and each one is amazing for totally different reasons. One was about music and the sudden loss of his wife. One was about music and his life after that tragedy (my review of that book is here.) This one is about music and life before all of that. Specifically, it's about the music that defined the 80's. The book - like Sheffield - is cool as hell. But, it's also touching and evokes memories in me about things I never lived through. He even dedicates a chapter to the glory that is the cassingle. Look, youngters, you'll never know the pure joy of buying a tape for $1.99 that had one song on each side (especially when those cassingles are TLC's Creep and Nate Dogg and Warren G's Regulate and you just got your license and your first car and FREEDOM.) 

This book is for anyone who lived through the 80s. Truth be told, I'm a tad young for a lot of this, so the David Bowie stuff and even most of Duran Duran is lost on me. But, we get there right around the time he titles a chapter "Funky Cold Medina" - and, his takes on Debbie Gibson transported me back to 4th grade when I had "Foolish Beat" on repeat (and, by "on repeat" I mean "rewinding over and over until my pink boom box finally ate the tape for good.)

I love Rob Sheffield's writing and I love the way he makes me feel about music. ALL of his books are beautiful and evocative and will have you reaching for music you haven't thought about in years, all to chase that feeling. This book had me listening to Kenny Rogers for an entire day, with "Love Will Turn You Around" transporting me back to hot summers in the back seat, somewhere near Bismark, North Dakota.

So, read Rob's books. All of them. And keep your boom box handy relive those sweet, sweet jams.

((Oh, and for the record, the #1 song on my 14th birthday? The one that's supposed to define me? Baby Got Back. Don't you say another word.))