Barry Unsworth

The Songs of the Kings

"Pure gold....One of the best books by this most versatile of writers."—Penelope Lively

"Troy meant one thing only to the men gathered here, as it did to their commanders. Troy was a dream of wealth; and if the wind continued the dream would crumble." As the harsh wind holds the Greek fleet trapped in the straits at Aulis, frustration and political impotence turn into a desire for the blood of a young and innocent woman—blood that will appease the gods and allow the troops to set sail. And when Iphigeneia, Agamemnon's beloved daughter, is brought to the coast under false pretences, and when a knife is fashioned out of the finest and most precious of materials, it looks as if the ships will soon be on their way. But can a father really go to these lengths to secure political victory, and can a daughter willingly give up her life for the worldly ambitions of her father?

Throwing off the heroic values we expect of them, Barry Unsworth's mythic characters embrace the political ethos of the twenty-first century and speak in words we recognize as our own. The blowhard Odysseus warns the men to not "marginalize" Agamemnon and to "strike while the bronze is hot." High-sounding principles clash with private motives, and dark comedy ensues. Here is a novel that stands the world on its head.

"Incandescent....One of the three most important British novelists at work today....It is impossible to read [this novel] without feeling an immediacy both unbearable and profound, as if this week's headlines were being incised into the conscience and the heart....Unsworth has combined several versions of the Iphigenia myth to set up an entrancing, frightening mystery."—Richard Eder, New York Times

"Detail so precise you can almost smell the cook fires....Almost magical capacity for literary time travel."—Neil Gordon, New York Times Book Review

"Elegant, profound, and wonder-provoking....Unsworth's writing is unrivaled, he gets better and better, and his versatility is breathtaking. His novels are close to perfect in an imperfect literary world."—Ruth Rendell

"Intellectually agile, thrillingly stylish...The Songs of the Kings effortlessly proves that modern life is the stuff of ancient myth."—The Guardian

"A beautifully measured entertainment given gravity by how accurately it reflects the present political zeal to control the media."—The Independent

"Unsworth's story never falters."—The Times [London]

"Brilliantly told. This short, sharp tale deserves to be on the shelves of revisionists and purists alike."—The List