The few dedicated regular readers of this blog will know that I am fascinated by myths and legends and of their reworking and re-imagining. So it is not a big surprise that I was intrigued by the novel Ransom by David Malouf.
Edmund White’s NYT review has a concise plot summary:
David Malouf’s “Ransom” reimagines the tragic story at the heart of “The Iliad.” Achilles mourns his childhood friend Patroclus after he is killed by Hector. Achilles takes his revenge by killing Hector in battle and desecrating his body.
The central action in Mr. Malouf’s novel occurs when Priam, Hector’s father and king of Troy, travels in a mule-drawn cart with half of the city’s treasure (the “ransom”) to plead for the return of Hector’s body so that it can be buried properly. Two instances of towering grief meet in the encounter.
As is so often the case, your knowledge of the backstory and your expectations will play a big role in your take on this story.
Those with a stronger knowledge of the Illiad and the story at the center of the novel might have stronger feelings and/or higher expectations that those who read it “straight” as it were.
But one thing I think everyone can agree on is that it is beautifully written and, at times, quite moving. More below.
