{"product_id":"the-songs-of-the-kings-paperback","title":"The Songs of the Kings - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eBarry Unsworth\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA brilliant retelling of an ancient myth, \u003ci\u003eThe Songs of the Kings\u003c\/i\u003e offers up a different narrative of the Trojan War, one devoid of honor, wherein the mission to rescue Helen is a pretext for plundering Troy of its treasures. As the ships of the Greek fleet find themselves stalled in the straits at Aulis, waiting vainly for the gods to deliver more favorable winds, Odysseus cynically advances a call for the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter, Calchas the diviner interprets events for the reader, and a Homer-like figure called the Singer is persuaded to proclaim a tale of a just war to hide the corrupt motivations of those in power. But couched within the Singer's spin is a message at once timely and timeless: \"There is always another story. But it is the stories told by the strong, the songs of kings, that are believed in the end.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBarry Unsworth was born in 1930 and grew up in a mining town in northeast England. Descended from a long line of coal miners, he was the first Unsworth to escape the mines. He attended Manchester University and published his first novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Partnership\u003c\/i\u003e, in 1966. He is the author of seventeen books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Ruby in Her Navel\u003c\/i\u003e, longlisted for the Booker Prize; \u003ci\u003ePascali's Island\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMorality Play\u003c\/i\u003e, both shortlisted for the Booker; and \u003ci\u003eSacred Hunger\u003c\/i\u003e, co-winner of the Booker Prize. He died in 2012 at the age of eighty-one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 7.8 x 5.1 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e November 14, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52580946903347,"sku":"9780525435242","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0300\/5595\/6612\/files\/2478VXtkHL9780525435242.webp?v=1761537222","url":"https:\/\/www.vysn.com\/products\/the-songs-of-the-kings-paperback","provider":"VYSN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}