Wrath Goddess Sing: A Novel

HIGHLIGHTS ~do not read if you’re looking for Achilles/Patroclus ~do read for epically deadly trans woman Achilles ~and amazing Egyptian sorceresses ~never trust a god ~or a dolphin There are books that strike you like a hammer against bronze, making you reverberate with their glory. Making you peal out your fierce, wild joy like the greatest and sweetest of shining bells. Wrath Goddess Sing is one of those books. * It is theoretically possible than some other author could have put in the years of work and research that clearly went into every detail of Wrath Goddess Sing. But no one else could have made this story as beautiful and as bold, as extraordinary and as entrancing, as poignant and powerful and profound as Deane has done. With prose like a wine-dark sea, she sweeps us away into a rich, complex world like no other Trojan War retelling we’ve ever seen: one anchored in real Bronze Age history, weaving together so many unexpected threads, peeling back the…the polish, the Anglicisation of the tale we all know, to get at a story that’s never been told before. Because we do all know this tale, don’t we? At least vaguely? Via any one of the dozens of film adaptions if nothing else? Maybe you’ve read other retellings; maybe you even studied The Illiad at school or at uni, like I did, and thus don’t really think Deane can take you by surprise. Not really. Not much. She still has to make Wrath Goddess Sing recognisably the story of Achilles, right? How different…

The plot of this book closely follows the Illiad, but this is not just any retelling of the same old story. Maya Deane deftly works her way through the classic poem, hitting all of the same notes, but places the emphasis on new and fresh beats. Recasting Achilles as a trans woman is a revelation. She maintains all the faults and foibles of the original vanity and pridefulness of the classical depiction, but here Achilles' pride is not mere hubris, but rather a shout of defiance against the expectations placed on her by both humans and the gods. Her pride is her refuge, her safe port, where she can withstand the buffeting of the world around her. As the protagonist to a novel, Achilles is a delight--a lively, funny character who's faults are all too understandable. The supporting cast is equally well depicted, from Achilles' oldest ally patroclus--one of the few to accept her as a woman in her youth--to Merapi, an Egyptian sorceress who steals every scene she's in. Do not mistake this as a book that only queer audiences will appreciate. Maya Dean weaves an incredible new take on the classic story with humor, wit, heartpounding action scenes, and an ending that will stick with you long after you've turned the final page.

I experienced this book twice. The first time just the audiobook and the second time reading along with the audiobook to ensure I missed as little as possible. This is an amazing retelling of the Iliad and especially Achilles story as a kallai (trans woman). From the start of the book I found her amazingly relatable and at times found it very easy to identify with her emotions and decisions, no matter how rash or impulsive. I'm no longer a 19 year old transfeminine bisexual disaster, but Maya Deane's writing certainly reminded me that I once was. Wrath Goddess Sing is the kind of mythopoeic work that we need as trans women and transfems. Truly telling stories that engage with who and what we truly are, and in many ways, realize greater things, and stories that transcend our origins. It definitely helps that Katherine Pucciariello's narration truly brings Wrath Goddess Sing to life in a way that I have rarely experienced with any book. Her work elevates an already beautiful story to new heights.

Though not included in Homer's Iliad, the story which sets up the heroism of Achilles in the Trojan War, there is a story that takes place before Achilles joins the war. Achilles' mother Thetis, in an attempt to save his life, sends him to live on Skyros as a woman among the other women there. In the original tale, Achilles develops feelings for Deidamia, one of King Lycomedes' daughters, and the two end up having two children. Depending upon the source, when Odysseus exposes Achilles as a male and takes him off to fight Troy, Deidamia either takes up a spear and follows him or stays behind and pleads for him to return to her. Using that story as the source material, Deane makes a single change and goes from there. Instead of Achilles dressing as a woman hiding on the island of Skyros as a man, Deane posits that Achilles is a trans woman, and is living on Skyros as a woman to be true to herself. From this small change comes the rest of this story, though it may be better to think of this as a story entirely on its own, instead of a simple retelling of the myth - especially as this story continues on through the Trojan War. In that sense, it evolves into a retelling of The Iliad, even though the myth of Achilles on Skyros is not included in the original Iliad. I also think it's important, at this point, to mention that Deane is a trans woman. Her own experience informs this story in a way that is very powerful. And while there are some critics who will say that there's no…

“Wrath Goddess Sing” was a new experience for me in several ways. Happily, Maya Deane is still alive. Virtually all the books I read are by authors who have been gathered to their mothers. Even better, I was able to chat IRL with the wordsmith as I progressed through the opus. I am male, body and soul. I’d rather not dwell on my own proclivities but let me just say that I’ve never undressed a man with my eyes. Until I married the most beautiful woman in the world, I was quite jealous of guys who had a way with the ladies. Although I have read many articles and op/eds on LGBTQI+ issues, this was my first exposure to queer literature. I came of age before folks were open about their various persuasions, and it took a bit of growth to understand sexual orientation. It was harder to get my head around gender identity. One of the appeals “Wrath” had for me was a chance to get a firsthand perspective of a subject I knew very little about. I was surprised that the book struck me as more about girl power than transgender issues. I hope this doesn’t come across as straightsplaining, but if Achilles had been reimagined as a cisgender female, I doubt the story would have been very different. Of course, that might have been the point. I’ll have to ask Maya next time I see her.