American novelist Madeline Miller is best known for her books 'The Song of Achilles' (2011) and 'Circe' (2018). It's noted that it took Miller roughly a decade to write 'The Song of Achilles', for which she won the Orange Prize for Fiction (now known as the Women's Prize for Fiction). In a recent interview with The Guardian, Miller spoke about the books that made an impact on her and how.
Talking about the book that changed her as a teenager, Miller told The Guardian, "I had so many positive formative reading experiences as a teenager. But one that stands out was actually a negative experience: reading 'The Fountainhead'. At 15, I often chose books based on how thick they were – the thicker the better. And Ayn Rand’s door stoppers were everywhere, so I picked one, and started reading. For maybe the first 50 pages, I was hooked by the story. But I began to feel a sort of visceral disgust – as if I were being submerged into a tub of slime. I realised that I hated the book – not the writing, but the ideas behind it. Before this, I’d always read with an open heart. I saw authors as thoughtful and benevolent authorities. If it was written in a book, I thought, it must be true. 'The Fountainhead' was my awakening about how crucial it is to read critically."
