Sing to Me

by Jesse Browner

After the fall of Troy, an eleven-year-old boy sets off for the razed city once his father and sister fail to return home; an extraordinary, intimate retelling of a familiar legend, for lovers of Circe.

His family farm and the surrounding community now emptied by war, young Hani embarks on an epic quest – assisted by a brooding yet brilliant donkey – to find his lost sister in the ruins of Troy. Some war stories transcend time and circumstance, and so it is with the resourceful and heartbroken Hani, who must employ every bit of intelligence, every scrap of ingenuity, and ultimately every ounce of his spirit and humor to withstand the forces of civilization’s collapse.

Hani is no ordinary boy, however, and a character unlike any you’ve ever met. His interior world is one of startling depth and complexity. His insights into life, lives, and history are breathtakingly fresh. And his hope for survival--not a given, and in fact, less than likely--will propel you to the startling conclusion of this brief, elegiac, and singular work.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Retellings, Fantasy, Mythology, Historical, Greek Mythology

224 pages, Hardcover

First published May 20, 2025

About the author

Jesse Browner is the author of six books including the novels Conglomeros (Random House 1992), Turnaway (Random House 1996) and The Uncertain Hour (Bloomsbury 2007). He has also translated a number of notable books including the award winning Celine: A Biography. He lives in New York City. http://jessebrowner.com/index.htm. "

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe peace is just war taking a rest. Maybe war never really ends. from Sing to Me by Jesse Browner

Hani has lost his whole world. First, his mother. Then, his father and beloved sister Arinna, singer of songs, left to take the crop to the city. They never returned. On his journey to find Arianna, Hani lost his last friend, his wise donkey. Hani traveled for days to the walls of the great city, now a scene of carnage and toppled walls. The war has ended and there is no one left.

Hani might be the last person alive on earth.

But he finds an enemy soldier who is not dead. He takes a leap of trust and aids the man. They learn to communicate. Hani believes he has found his home in this other being.

The world has been severely wounded but it is not dead yet. from Sing to Me by Jesse Browner

Hani discovers that “the world is reborn every time you remember those you have lost,” a consolation that helps him face this new world.

Sing to Me is an elegy, timeless in wisdom, the story of war through the experience of a child. Hani learns about grief, the briefness of life and the consolation of memory.

Hani questions: If kings and warriors knew about war’s destruction, would they still start wars? Sadly, we know the answer.

This beautiful and poignant novel should become a classic.

Thanks to Little Brown Company for a free book through NetGalley.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Little, Brown and Company, Jesse Browner, and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Set after the fall of Troy, ‘Sing to Me’ follows an eleven-year-old boy (Hani) through the ruined city in search of his lost sister. Everyone he knew is a ghost, long-gone with no evidence that they had ever lived but for his own memories and the marks they left upon his abandoned farm.

Browner delivers an elegy, simultaneously ancient and timeless. The guileless observation only a child’s mind can deliver collides with the barbarity of the cost of war. Bodies line the city—the scent clings to Hani’s nose and loincloth, yet he lingers. The invented language shared between he and his lost sister creates the pretext to a very new system of communication as Hani stumbles across the dead, the dying, and the walking soulless.

The best information I can offer fellow readers is my humble prediction that this will be regarded as a modern classic: a gap filled in the literature we regard as canon. But I must also offer a caution—what gives this story its power are the evil machinations witnessed through the naïve eyes of a child. Can strange adults become friends? Was that an offer of slavery or of a favor?

To describe this as anything but an elegy to the innocents who paid the cost of war would be to do Browner’s work an injustice. Truly a triumph and an honor to read and review.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hani is an eleven-year-old boy from a valley not far from Troy (called only “the city.”) As the story begins, he is alone with his donkey. Hani sets off to find his father and sister but finds only destruction and desolation everywhere he looks. This book provides an unusual take on the aftermath of the Trojan War, told through the eyes of a lost child. Hani is young and naïve, so the reader will understand what Hani is viewing before he does. The book portrays the impact of war on innocent children. The heart of the story is provided by the relationship formed between Hani and a lone survivor who cannot speak. It is a lyrically written and moving novel that highlights both the worst and best traits of humankind. The beauty of this slim book is that it turns a sad and tragic tale into one of hope and the ability to transcend differences. Recommended to those who enjoy expressive writing and retellings from unusual perspectives. I listened to the audio book, which is wonderfully read by Samara Naeymi.

I received an advance reader’s copy from the publisher via NetGalley. It is scheduled for release on May 20, 2025.

[vickie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars ✶

i didn’t really know what to expect going into this book but i was intrigued by the synopsis.

i don’t really have much to say on this book just that it was really well written and atmospheric.

i think it’s a beautiful piece about grief and the after affects of war on humanity and our ability to persist and still have our guard up to strangers but also the beauty of bonding with someone you otherwise would never have met.

Samara Naeymi, our narrator was really good but i did have to speed up the audiobook to 2x and sometimes 2.5x because i felt like it was being spoken too slow.

thank you netgalley & hachette audio for the arc!

[RatGrrrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC through NetGalley for an honest review.

Hoo boy! I really didn't need any other reason to cry today, but this book got me sobbing those emotional tears that only a good book can.

Sing to Me is the story of an 11-year old boy on a remote farm and his travel across the wasteland with his donkey to the fallen city of Troy, but that doesn't do anything to describe the poetry and metaphysical wonder and despair explored in Browner's exquisite prose.

I'm absolutely blown away.

I feel like I could never shut up about this book and also am left so breathless that I can't find any.

In a world oversaturated with historical fiction, especially Hellenistic historical fiction, this little book is humble and soft spoken, but every word is filled with beauty and pain.

In a year filled with a succession of my favourite books of the year and all time, this easily enters the pantheon.

[E. Jamieson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deeply Bronze Age. I like.

[Maree · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sing to Me is a small gem of a book. The setting (after the fall of Troy) is what hooked me, although this story could really be set after any violent conflict. The plot is very simple; thoughful, resourceful, abandoned Hani is from a farming village a few days from Troy and heads there to try to find his family. His interior narration is gentle and compassionate, in a world that is decidedly not so. The prose is lovely, a mixture of rich description and Hani's reflections on what he's learning about the world as he goes. I liked this very much.

[Denise Haughian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a powerful book that I really enjoyed reading. The young narrator Hani is wise beyond his years (perhaps a little too wise? But he’s been through so much) and is very easy to like. His relationships with his sister and the donkey are almost supernatural yet quite believable. As he travels through the ruins of Troy, the death and destruction are almost too much to bear but he draws strength from somewhere. We get a completely different point of view from the heroic, classical Homeric epic. The Iliad is full of names, places, gods and goddesses and there are very few of those in this book except for Achilles. (Maybe a glossary or other appendage would have helped). A wonderful addition to the genre of modern literature set in ancient times. If you enjoyed Madeline Miller’s Circe, Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits , Natalie Haynes’ Stone Blind and Divine Might, and even Alvar Enrigue’s’ You Dreamed of Empires, you’d enjoy this one. Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet (to a certain extent) and Jo Harkin’s The Pretender also use a child’s perspective to explore distant times past.

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was simply gorgeous.

Hani is walking through a world fully abandoned and decimated by war. After losing his last friend, his horse, he is finding nothing but the lost bodies of war- until he finds one enemy soldier who is not yet dead. Over the coming days, he returns again and again to this soldier, until he is well enough, and a sort of kinship grows between them.

I found the book to be incredibly well written and beautiful while writing about the tragedies of war and loss.

The narration by Samara Naeymi was beautifully done but slow paced.

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this, I loved it.

[Corinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

At some point I should probably stop reading books about the end of everything, but the hopeful thread of surviving societal collapse with our shared humanity intact is just where I am going to stay for a minute. And if those novels are new, creative ways to explore stories we’ve been telling for thousands of years? All the better.

I would have wandered around Troy with Hani for a hundred more pages. Highly recommend for folks looking for a unique take on a classic, or anyone looking to make a new literary best friend on a quest.

[Jada Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

ALC 🎧 Book Review 🤍

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Beautifully written- Hani’s insights, trying to survive after the war while looking for his family… All of it was so sad. Esp for someone his age, my goodness. After nursing an enemy soldier back to health, showing that small bit of humane compassion in a place so bleak & riddled w/ death. I would’ve thought their bond was strong, but I guess you really don’t know somebody even after the fact…
Overall, the story was well written. I also felt like I needed a bit more from it, the emotions were there, but they didn’t stick around neither.

“Maybe peace is just war taking a rest. Maybe war never ends.”
Will the world truly ever know peace…

[Angela Cerkovnik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not finish - just couldn’t get into it.

[hafsa khan · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice greek mythological retelling

[NaTaya Hastings · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was beautifully written. The language draws you in, and the setting is immersive and atmospheric.

But I found it somewhat lacking in substance.

The author has this gorgeous, lyrical style of prose that I always envy. Unfortunately, the plot was thin, and there was very little action. I felt the story mirrored the main character in that they both were very .... slow (of pace, not mind) and meandering.

If you enjoy stories that are all about the journey and the descriptions, you might appreciate it more than I did. As for the narration elements, I enjoyed those very much. No complaints there.

[Yari]

Sing to Me by Jesse Browner (book cover is in image) is an exquisitely written book about a boy who is separated from his sister after the fall of Troy and his journey to find her. Browner exquisitely emersed the reader in this world to experince the impacts and aftermath of war.

The narration by Samara Naeymi was exquisitely done, bring unique voices to each character and providing a visceral experience. I strongly recommend this book.

Than you Hachette Audio | Little, Brown & Company for the opportunity to listen to this ALC. All opinions are my own.

Rating 5 Stars
Pub Date: May 20 2025

#HachetteAudio
#LittleBrownandCompany
#SingtoMe
#JesseBrowner
#SamaraNaeymi
#Fiction
#yarisbooknook
#netgalley

[Marl · Rating 5 out of 5]

[5 stars]

I took zero notes while reading this book because I genuinely had no words. Don’t let the brevity of this review dissuade you from experiencing it.

Sing to Me follows Hani, an 11 year old boy living in a very small village in a valley a day or two’s walk from Troy. The Trojan War has been going on since he was too young to remember, the majority of the men in his village have been called to fight years ago, including two of his older brothers, and death is everywhere (typical Bronze Age living). His father, a farmer, has taken his six year old sister to Troy to sell what he can of his goods. It has been weeks with no return. Hani decides to venture to the city, along with his family’s donkey, to find his sister. Once there, he is met with the aftermath of the war in the broken and emptied city. Hani’s only company is his donkey and a dying soldier laying on the cobblestone.

This is a novel of solitude. It is very reminiscent of those books in the vein of I Who Have Never Known Men and the like. Though we meet some of those Hani knew from his village - mostly his family members - through his memories, we spend most of our time following Hani through the walls of Troy. Bodies litter the upper city, he finds tablets with writing on them (which he has only heard rumors about in his village), and he passes by a strange, broken open wooden horse within the city walls. The setting is wonderful and almost addictive. I love the Bronze Age and the stories around Wilusa, so every little detail of what the different parts of the city were like, what foods they ate, their past times, and more were great to read. The emptiness is palpable and wrong, but it’s kept wistful and adventurous through Hani’s POV.

We get a very unique and believable child’s perspective. Hani is a joy to follow, even in the more concerning moments. By nature of living in the Bronze Age, Hani is well acquainted with death and, though he doesn’t want to stay near them, does not retch at the bodies across the city. He loves to play knuckle-bones (similar to jacks) and shows it off to anyone he can. He loves his sister and created a made-up language with just her for the two of them to speak to each other. He creates grand ideas and stories in his head, such as starting to think he is the only person left alive in the world after a day or two of walking around the emptied Troy.

I really don’t know what else to say. This is a lyrical and beautifully written novel, but never dense or slow. We meander, but never linger too long anywhere. There are very few characters present, but each makes their mark strongly. The book explores the impact of ceaseless grief and war on a child without needing to break the story and outright explain it like other less skillfully written narratives might have. One of my top three books of the year so far and definitely one that I will revisit in the future.

[Pudsey Recommends · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰 𝘔𝘦
by Jesse Browner, read by Samara Naeymi

The novella opens with eleven-year-old Hani hunting frogs; he survives by killing and roasting frogs. Hani comes across as a gentle soul, he doesn’t like killing harmless creatures, but he needs to eat. Hani wonders if he is the last person on Earth. His family and neighbours have all disappeared, either killed or dragged away to serve in the war.  War has been a constant throughout his life; he knows no other reality.

He has a special bond with his six-year-old sister, Arinna, she used to sing them both to sleep with songs that she’d heard from the gods—songs that would protect children from danger—and now she is gone. Hani sets out on a journey to find her and bring her home.

While the setting is not explicitly named, the details—such as bronze daggers and the remnants of a wooden horse—suggests that the tale might be set in the aftermath of the Trojan War - the publisher’s blurb is clearer about it stating that it is set “after the fall of Troy’. Regardless, it doesn’t have to be, though; this can easily be Gaza, Ukraine, Lebanon, Syria, or any of the awful pointlessness of all those wars—“fleeing refugees—attacked by their neighbors—not knowing what hit them.”

Hani travels with his loyal donkey, Ansa, his only comfort. He does wonder if the thousand or more gods on Mount Hazzi are real; if they were, “why would they destroy the world, then choose him, Hani, the most ignorant person alive, to be the only survivor?” He comes to a burned-out city with its “twisty tangle of human corpses,” almost every one of them an old person. This war has been explained to him his whole life, but he still knows nothing.

However, Hani believes in fate, which even the gods are powerless to stop. “No matter what choice you make, you have been fated to it since you were born.” His own fate is to search for Arinna.
“Anything worth finding is worth looking for. […] He can’t go home until the war is over. The war won’t be over until he finds Arinna. Finding Arinna is his war.”

He’s scared. But it is not fear that is holding him back. It ’s being judged for all the darkness - he thinks - he carries within that stops him—“he is not good and isn’t even sorry for it.” Wandering and wondering. Games are easier: “you know exactly when it is over and who has won it.” “War feels fuzzy around the edges”—you can never tell; the certain thing is that a home will never be but a shadow of what it used to be.

Meanwhile, through all the lifeless rubble, the first sign he sees of life is a dying soldier who opens his eyes. What has just happened? Hani has awakened a man that wasn’t dead yet! Is he the enemy, or is he on Hani’s side? How can you tell? Who knows what to believe in anymore? His actions will guide the rest of the plot in this remarkable Beckett-like adventure.

Hani wisely muses that “love is what holds the world together; even a child knows it, a donkey knows it, a trapped frog knows it.” Forebodingly Hani thinks: “Maybe peace is just war taking a rest.” and “Talk of peace is talk of a King’s banquet.” And questions if kings and warriors knew about war’s destruction, would they still start wars? 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘛𝘰 𝘔𝘦 is a tragic, lyrical, and timeless tale about the futility of conflict.

This is the first time I have read Browner’s work, and I’m pretty impressed. I’ll look forward to reading more from this author and certainly will look out for more audiobooks narrated by Samara Naeymi

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for this beautifully crafted experience! #pudseyrecommends

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

a surprisingly elegant and intricate stream of consciousness. there is a lot of growth in these two hundred pages and i really enjoyed the reflections on love and fate and religion. for a boy who has stumbled upon a despicable ravaging of his people (think golyn niis in The Poppy War, or just the general state of affairs in The Road) his eleven-year-old narration is extremely mature; there is so much love spilling from his heart, for his missing sister and ever-faithful donkey and the belief in his own destiny, that it overpowers the horror and transforms it into a beautiful resilience.

that being said, the last twenty pages turned it into a completely different story. Browner is walking a paper-thin line when he basically discards the whole trip (and by proxy, the sister, the driving force of the book) in favor of “the world is reborn every time you think of something that is lost” which to me is like letting a paper cut heal to crust and then ripping the scab off and also amputating the finger just for the sake of it. what’s the rush of building a simple narrative for ninety percent of the story and then muddling it all up in the last ten? it’s like those oversimplified drawing tutorials: step one is an oval for the head, step two is a curve for the eyebrows, and step three is every other fucking detail under the sun. instead of a solid resolution to the grief he throws in the arrival of newcomers and the friendship of an enemy soldier and the concept of written language(!) into the mix. in stark contrast to the leisure pace of the boy’s odyssey, at no point in the last chapter or so could i predict where the story was being steered. sure, overall it’s now a more nuanced soup, but i’m a bit miffed that the original flavors were developed really well and then not exemplified at all.

4.5/5 rounded down

[Dusty Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the aftermath of a war that eviscerates a whole population, Sing to Me follows 11-year-old Hani as he sets out alone to find his missing sister, Arinna, and father. With only his donkey, Ansa, for company, Hani navigates a world that's been shattered by conflict. The ruins of the world he knows surround him as he is forced to grow up quickly.

The storyline gives you a glimpse into the horrors of death and battle thorugh the eyes of a child. Innocence turning into grief, contemplation of what masculinity means, what causes war, and how we carry stories forward. It's powerful and moving.

"Children are afraid of monsters, women are afraid of men, but men mostly seem to be afraid of themselves"---the quote struck a nerve in me. It felt profound coming from the voice of a child the same age as one of my own children.

It sums up so much of the emotional undercurrent of the book. You really start to feel how Hani—this boy coming of age in the shadow of war—is trying to make sense of the fear, pain, and violence that the adults around him seem to have either caused or inherited.

The narrator of the audiobook did a great job, her voice gave a great pace and mood to the heaviness of the story. The ending left me with that kind of lingering thoughts that I love from a good book. I'll be mulling on this one for a while.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

[James (JD) Dittes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somehow Sing to Me is a post-acopcalyptic book set 3,000 years ago.

Read that again. The paradox reveals the beauty of this novel.

Set in Troy where the charred remains of a wooden horse and piles of corpses remain from the Achaean pillaging, the survivors -- a boy and his donkey, wandering down from a village in the hills to find a father and sister -- find only dead and the dregs of war. None of its glories.

As someone who has read and taught The Iliad many times, I really loved Browner's subtle allusions to the masterpiece. They are just enough to connect the book to its inspiration while still allowing Browner to develop his own world. Having visited the site of Troy many times, the layout of the real city matches that of Browner's book. Hani grows up hearing terrifying tales of an "Akillisa", which he takes to be a monster or demon -- not the superfighter whose rage fuels Homer's epic.

And the subtle changes to spelling allow Browner to maintain the mystery that the war feels to the boy while allowing a digressing into language. The one survivor Hani meets in the ruined city is a mute soldier who teaches the boy to communicate through symbols and language.

Browner's Troy is uniquely his own. Unlike many historic novels, his tale is connected to the master-story by thin, colorful threads, and it was a delight for me all the way through the book.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sing to Me is a story about a young boy who travels from his home to try and find his sister among the ruins of Troy. This is a very intelligent book. It is extremely atmospheric and beautifully written. It's one of those novels that doesn't have many things actually happening in the story but is full of introspection and metaphors below the surface. It has very touching themes of grief and how war affects the common person. Like I said the novel has an intelligence about it. I, personally, was just bored the entire time unfortunately. I can acknowledge that, objectively, this is a beautiful novel. I just do not think I am the target audience for this novel. I am very much a reader for pleasure. I take a story as it is, and I do not tend to try and dig deeper or analyze the themes of a story. I believe the type of reader that this story would appeal to would be one who annotates and highlights and tries to discern the themes of a story. I just think this is an intelligent novel for a certain audience that I just wasn't.
I did Also want to quickly touch on the audiobook. I think the overall quality of the audiobook was really well produced. I especially liked the narrator, and I felt that they did really breathe life into the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an Arc audiobook of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this read a lot. The length is perfect for what it is attempting to accomplish. It is philosophical in tone. The central tenets are large questions about life, war, family and perspective. A lot of the book is spent exploring them. It gets away with it because the background, the desserted ruins of Troy in the days immediately following the departure of Agamemnon's army, is so vividly drawn. It is hampered because the narrator is an 11-year-old farm boy. It can be frustrating as the reader to know more about the Bronze Age world than the protagonist, but it's such a good perspective, and Hani is such a curious kid going through so much, you don't begrudge his ignorance. The mute soldier is also an interesting character and we learn a surprising amount about him. The end is a little unexpected. Did their relationship warrant being likened to Achilles and Patroclus? I'm unconvinced. Still, it was sweetly written and benignly done, and the shadow of Achilles hung over the book long enough to at least make it contextual. I am glad I read this and if I read it again in time I'm sure I'd have all new thoughts. In the hands of a director able to use silence and solitude to create the right imagery and emotions, this would make an excellent movie. Epic, memorable, a very different take on Troy.

[Hank Stuever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisitely and precisely imagined, and one of my favorite kinds of stories, which I'm sure has a specific genre name (I wasn't an English major), but is most broadly and anciently known as a _quest._ I love these stories, especially from the POV of an observant youth; most recently I loved it in Lauren Groff's "The Vaster Wild": A narrator, young and under great duress, leaves the emotional or physical ruins of home to find something lost -- a better place, a missing person, a future, a solace to trauma.

These survival stories are about becoming. Wizard of Oz, Huckleberry Finn, The Road, you get the gist. Very occasionally, rare enough to be treasured, I find and enjoy one as good as Jesse Browner's "Sing to Me" (truly a serendipitous discovery -- perused and then rescued from the giveaway cart in the books department at my workplace). A deceptively simple story, broadening with each page, holding my breath as Hani, the only survivor of a brutal war, sets off from his small farm village with his donkey to search for his missing father and little sister, making his way to a destroyed city he has only ever heard stories and tall tales about. (It's Troy. The Trojan War.) I was thoroughly absorbed in it and often moved.

[Jaylynny · Rating 4 out of 5]

When we were kids, our Uncle Victor (an amazing self-taught artist) used to tell my brothers and I all the Greek myths, illustrating them as he talked with weirdly simple but lively cartoon figures. We learned about Zeus and Hera, Odysseus and Achilles. The Trojan War.

Hani is an 11 year-old boy looking for his father and sister in the fallen city of Troy. The great Horse stands in the plaza, broken from the legs up. The city is filled with corpses.

After complaining about too much interior voice in the last book I read, now I read a book which is almost exclusively the interior voice of a boy learning about war, loss, grief. But this book is different; I didn't mind it. Hani's voice (aside from some strange anachronistic word choices which threw me off) became both comforting and companionable.

No child should learn about war all by himself in a ruined world, but if one did, I suspect it would be like this. Quiet, sad, maybe ultimately hopeful. It hurts me that a lot of children are learning about war in real life all the time.

[Elizabeth Sheeley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! The concept intrigued me from the beginning, and I thought it was really interesting from the beginning. Where the writing shines, it really shines. I also entirely sure where the "plot" was going to go from the summary, but it took an interesting direction. I also really liked the little references to the Greek side of the story that we get in the Iliad.

My few complaints were 1) sometimes the writing felt a little too "modern". Language is fine (and thanks!), but some of the concepts Hani thought of I was like did this even exist?? 2) Hani felt a little too old at times. I know the age of maturity was definitely younger, and he could just be an "old soul," but occasionally it was a little jarring.

I would definitely still recommend this book though! Especially if you know the Iliad story really well.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of the book's protagonist, 11-year-old Hani, is haunting. Taking place shortly after the fall of Troy, Hani is left alone in his desolate farming valley. All he has ever know is war, loss, and devastation. When his father and beloved sister Arrina leave their home to travel to Troy to try to sell goods, they never return home. Anyone would assume they have died during the siege of Troy.

But smart, resourceful, and hopeful, Hani sets out to find them.
Lyrical, while quietly gruesome in its depiction of senseless carnage, Hani does make it to Troy with his trusty mule Ansa. And from this context, he tries to make sense of himself and the world around him.

Coming across--and caring for-- a near dead soldier from Troy, adds to the complexity and beauty of the novel.

Compelling.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sprawling and atmospheric adventure from the perspective of a lost but precocious boy after the fall of Troy.

I can't really say very much goes on. Hani (sounds like Honey) wanders around the landscape having minor adventures. Yet, they were rather precious and heartmoving. I couldn't get the image of a donkey with a bone shard stuck in its hoof out of my head. I also couldn't tell if Hani is alive or dead. I don't think one needs to be a fan of Roman myth to enjoy this one. At the same time, I'm not really sure what I was meant to get out of it.

The narration by Samara Naeymi was well done, but a bit slow.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Audio | Little, Brown & Company for the advance copy of the audiobook.

[Bill P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having always been attracted to Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, this looked like it would be a good listening diversion during a long drive. Wasn't quite sure what to make of it at first, a 11 year old boy and his donkey in search of missing lost sister within the ruins of Troy. But the story evolves from the musings of an adolescent to the grim realities of the loss and suffering that accompanies any conflict of war, no matter the century. All is not grim however as Hani the central character finds purpose and a bit of redemption for himself if not the world in his efforts to befriend and restore a wounded soldier within the ruined walls. Kudos to the reader for her excellent presentation of the narrative.

[Shawntel (read_with_shawntel) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️

“… war is not about the killing. It seems to him that it must be about fear more than anything.”

When I heard Samara Naeymi mention this book during a (hilarious) live, I knew it would be right up my alley. I was extremely lucky go get an advance listener copy. I was not prepared to be as emotional over this book as I was. I am an active member of the black heart club so it takes a lot to make me cry. While I didn’t actually shed a tear, this book tugged on all my heart strings.

If you like retellings, pick this up. Jesse Browner knows how to turn a phrase. The writing was stunning. I highly encourage you to do the audio because Sam absolutely nailed this one.

[Sarah-Hope · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd been hoping this book would have the same magical effect on me as Madeline Miller's Song of Achilles. That's probably unfair. We should go into books open to seeing what kind of magic an author has to offer rather than hoping for more of another author's magic.

That said, Sing to Me is an interesting read, but not one I found particularly compelling. Am I sorry I read it? No. Is it a book I'll be rereading in the future? No? The prose was lovely, but couldn't carry the book on its own. The narrative wandered and the ending felt too open-ended.

I received a free electronic review copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley; the opinions are my own.