In this exquisite gem of a novel, David Malouf shines new light onHomer'sIliad, adding twists and reflections, as well as flashes of earthy humour, to surprise and enchant. Lyrical, immediate and heartbreaking, Malouf's fable engraves the epic themes of the Trojan war onto a perfect miniature - themes of war and heroics, hubris and humanity, chance and fate, the bonds between soldiers, fathers and sons, all brilliantly recast for our times.

David Malouf is the internationally acclaimed author of novels includingThe Great World(winner of the Commonwealth Writers' prize and the Prix Femina Etranger),Remembering Babylon(shortlisted for the Booker Prize and winner of the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award),An Imaginary Life,Conversations at Curlow Creekand his autobiographical classic12 Edmondstone Street. HisCollected Storieswon the 2008 Australia-Asia Literary Award, and his story collections areDream StuffandEvery Move You Makewhere met with critical acclaim. In 2008 Malouf was the Scottish Arts' Council Muriel Spark International Fellow. Born in 1934 in Brisbane, he now lives in Sydney.

A brilliant Homeric fable in miniature for our times - a lyrical and surprising reworking of the story of the Trojan war by an acclaimed international writer.