eBook, 389 pages
English language
Published July 29, 2011 by Bloomsbury Publishing.
This is the story of the seige of Troy from the perspective of Achilles best-friend Patroclus. Although Patroclus is outcast from his home for disappointing his father he manages to be the only mortal who can keep up with the half-God Archilles. Even though many will know the facts behind the story the telling is fresh and engaging.
I read this right when Circe first came out. From beginning to end, this has by far some of, if not the, best prose I've ever come across. Previous to this, I had no familiarity with Greek mythology which is probably for the best. Miller breathes life into not only her characters but her settings and atmosphere as well. Even the most mundane scenes are a thrill to read just for the prose!
Miller's beautiful writing brings to life the Achilles and Patroclus love story, but at the expense of the action. I appreciate this given how action packed most stories about Troy are. The Song of Achilles is a great read for anyone who loves Greek Myths and appreciates romance.
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Makes me want to watch Troy and read the Illiad
A beautiful retelling of a central part of The Illiad as a tragic (gay) love story. It retains the style rawness of antiquity. I was moved and loved the book.
I am absolutely sobbing, which I expected. Heartfelt and tragic, as it should be.
It is so very easy to fright a mind from enjoying this work of flightful fiction. A scathing review, pointing out the many inaccuracies against its sources or some (and may you have better days ahead if you watch those, truly) video essay to hammer on the tenses or its style of telling. For the easily influenced, the difference between love and dislike is a whim of opinion. I have, by now, read many reviews telling me why I should abhor this, and I think some make fair points. Still, I liked it. I was moved by the great and bitter satisfaction of the ending, and I liked all passages in which there was simultaneously so very much and nothing at all going on. To all burgeoning classicists, I would recommend Emily Wilson's Iliad and to listen to some of her many talks and lectures. But! I digress. I liked …
It is so very easy to fright a mind from enjoying this work of flightful fiction. A scathing review, pointing out the many inaccuracies against its sources or some (and may you have better days ahead if you watch those, truly) video essay to hammer on the tenses or its style of telling. For the easily influenced, the difference between love and dislike is a whim of opinion. I have, by now, read many reviews telling me why I should abhor this, and I think some make fair points. Still, I liked it. I was moved by the great and bitter satisfaction of the ending, and I liked all passages in which there was simultaneously so very much and nothing at all going on. To all burgeoning classicists, I would recommend Emily Wilson's Iliad and to listen to some of her many talks and lectures. But! I digress. I liked it, with all its little, binary imperfections. We can have it, as a treat. Which it is.
One of the rare cases that I absolutely loved a book that I have seen heavily recommended on social medias. This was a fantastic read. I never read The Iliad (and obviously really should, reading more book revolving around the gods would be a fun challenge for next year), so I cannot speak on how it holds up against that. But from my understanding, this is a retelling of the tale from Patroclus' perspective.
The wording was beautiful and there were no wasted moments that were plugged in to elongate the book. Truthfully there was a lot of time that was skipped over to be able to stick to the major moments. I also very much appreciated that the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus was not watered down or skirted around. It was the driving factor behind this book and the story would not have worked without it.
Overall very …
One of the rare cases that I absolutely loved a book that I have seen heavily recommended on social medias. This was a fantastic read. I never read The Iliad (and obviously really should, reading more book revolving around the gods would be a fun challenge for next year), so I cannot speak on how it holds up against that. But from my understanding, this is a retelling of the tale from Patroclus' perspective.
The wording was beautiful and there were no wasted moments that were plugged in to elongate the book. Truthfully there was a lot of time that was skipped over to be able to stick to the major moments. I also very much appreciated that the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus was not watered down or skirted around. It was the driving factor behind this book and the story would not have worked without it.
Overall very glad I read it, would recommend, plan to read the original, and really want to delve into other stories that involve Greek mythology.
Confession: I did not know the tale of Achilles other than some superficial pieces of information before reading this book. I am happy to have taken note of the people gushing about this book. It's been a couple of years since I read it but I still remember what I felt as I came to the end of the book. It was a powerfully sad yet happy feeling. It was overall an enjoyable lovely book and the two main characters are lovable (and dislikable at times). I think Madeline Miller did a wonderful job with the queer theme that should be digestable by everyone (at least everyone who is not homophobic). Writing this review makes me want to read it again and appreciate the story without trying to reach the end.
A tragedy of narcissistic proportions. Nicely written & well paced. Feels real without losing its mythic aura.
Reading time 3 days, 123 pages/day
Everyone knows the story of Achilles through the poem, The Illiad, but do you really?
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I prefer the original
Excellent retelling of the story of Achilles for the modern day.
This is a really lovely (re-)interpretation of the Iliad through the lens of romance writing. I really enjoy how the author has made the characters come to life in an unexpected way. Really easy and stress-free read. Absolutely recommend this book.
Enjoyed this much much more than I had expected too. I initially intended on rating this book a 4/5 but I think that is merely because I am late in reading this and it is something I would have adored a few years back—not to say that this wasn't spectacular though.
5/5
