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Title: Achilles' story
Review: Doomed by a mortal heel, the tragic Achilles was larger than life. He was trained by a centaur, lived as a girl in a neighboring king's court, and then was tricked by Odysseus into joining Agamemnon's war band at Troy where he sat back fuming, because of Agamemnon's assault on his pride, until Hector killed his beloved Patroclus. Achilles, more heroic than any other mortal, suffered more, as well. Even in death, his wrath turns him against his friend Odysseus.This is the ancient story Cook recreates -- complete with divine intervention and a shape-shifting nymph -- drawing readers in with gripping emotional content.Pros * Fleshes out Homeric episodes with suffering and emotions.* Integrates and explains the gods' intervention in the Trojan War.* Tells the story of Thetis, Achilles' mother.Cons * Modern sensibilities and street language* For those not interested in John Keats, the ending is anticlimactic.
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