I've been meaning to pick up a Pat Barker myth retelling for a while, for some reason i was convinced i'd love them but now I'm not sure i'll be picking another one up.

Not that i hated this book, I enjoyed it and liked its approach to the myth but it did fail to meet my expectations which might have been unfairly high. 

There were a couple bits that really resonated with me: Briseis naming the men Achilles killed and then quoting their mothers speaking about them. It gave a voice to these men that were slaughtered and are usually only used as a number to show Achilles's rage at losing Patroclus and showed the loss of war. Mothers losing their sons, the babies they raised and loved, some dying as young as 15. And the bit right at the end where she says how when people retell the story they'll soften the massacres and rape and turn it into a love story. That perfectly sums up my issues with how some people discuss the Illiad and focus on Achilles and Patroclus as star crossed lovers when really it's about a horrific war full of loss and tragedy. (Surprise: I didn't like Song of Achilles) 

While I appreciate the core of this book and the aforementioned sections that acknowledge the horrors of war something about it just fell short. There were anachronisms throughout that ruined my emergence. Why are ancient greeks saying for God's sake? or singing modern drinking songs? or saying Nah? These just completely took me out and showed a lack of result on Barkers part. It also had pacing issues especially towards the end, the section between Patroclus dying and Achilles dying was so drawn out and repetitive.