RaveThe Dallas Morning NewsAlthough Achilles soon is recognized as the greatest Greek warrior, it is the story of Patroclus — as Achilles’ aide-de-camp, as his friend and lover, as a medic for the Greek army, as protector of a captive girl over whom Achilles and Agamemnon quarrel, bringing disaster upon the Greek camp — that interests Miller more. Meanwhile, Achilles, who cannot function without Patroclus’ help, remains remote and godlike. Even for a scholar of Greek literature, which Miller is, rewriting the Western world’s first and greatest war novel is an awesome task to undertake. That she did it with such grace, style and suspense is astonishing.
Ben Fountain
PositiveThe Dallas Morning NewsOn one level it is simply a description of that extraordinary time as seen through the eyes and processed through the mind of the 19-year-old hero Billy Lynn. On other levels, the tens of thousands of fans in the aging Texas Stadium become a microcosm of America in an age of almost suffocating phoniness, especially phony patriotism … In the midst of this almost hallucinogenic sensory overload, Billy’s mind keeps returning to his real world: his dysfunctional parents who can no longer make their mortgage payments; his sister who is trying to persuade him to desert; his fantasies of future happiness with his just-met cheerleader … But the constant presence — the real reality — is the war and its pain and grief including the death of his best buddy, Shroom, who died in his arms in the battle for which Billy was decorated — which overshadows even the most ostentatious display of what a materialistic society deems real.
