A type of novel I (usually) don't like - we'll see how this one goes, though

I usually don't care for this kind of book, but, we are considering it for book group so I thought I'd take up David Malouf's new novel, "Ransom." Why don't I care for this type? I mean, really, why would a novelist just retell a story that's already been told much better already? This novel is a retelling of part of the Iliad. Why not just read The Iliad? I generally have impatience with the many novels that "fictionalize" a life story, that reimagine or extend the life of a literary character, that turn a historical event into a narrative episode - though there are some great novels that use and transform elements from history and biography, e.g., War and Peace. As to the others, my thought is: tell me something from your life, your experiences, or your imagination. I admit - my shortcoming, my personal taste. So, what about Malouf's take on Homer? I guess it's shortsighted to say it can't or shouldn't be done - a classicist would possibly say Homer shouldn't even be translated, so if you can't read ancient Greek forget about it. So Malouf offers a window into Homer's world. His writing is good, swift - covers about 2/3rds of the Iliad in his first 30 pages - but very ornate, and uses lots of sentence fragments, as if he's just jotting down impressions rather than developing thoughts. Interestingly, he gives a whole back story on the Patrocles-Achilles friendship - Patrocles as adopted brother of Achilles, maybe this is legendary, but I don't think it's in the Iliad - and definitely doesn't even touch on the homoerotic elements in their relationship. Though I started Ransom with trepidation, it so far is quite readable and I'm looking forward to continuing reading.