The Song of Achilles
Ratings1,491
Average rating4.3
I hate when I (either intentionally or subconsciously) resist reading a very popular bestseller for years only to discover when I finally crack the cover that everyone was right and it's absolutely incredible.
Madeline Miller’s second book, Circe, is a book I really liked. I blew through it in a single day, because it was one of those books I just could not put down. I liked the ethereal, aloof, otherworldly character of Circe, whom I thought was very well-written as a character not-quite-of-this-earth. The whole thing felt strange, foreign, peculiar, which seemed appropriate. In The Song of Achilles, I learn that this is just how Madeline Miller writes her protagonists. And although very appropriate for a half-goddess recluse mystic, it’s less appropriate for an ancient twink. There is some good gay longing in this book, though. From Chapter 5:
“He was like a flame himself. He glittered, drew eyes. There was a glamour to him, even on waking, with his hair tousled and his face still muddied with sleep. Up close, his feet looked almost unearthly: the perfectly formed pads of the toes, the tendons that flickered like lyre strings.”
I have respect for the boldness of spirit and enterprising nature that it takes for a NYT best-selling book about Ancient Greek fan-fiction to give Patroclus from the Illiad a foot fetish. Like Cirice and Lavinia, this is a feminist re-telling of something plucked out of the world of classical antiquity, re-writing Achilles and Patroclus as kind of sympathetic pre-allies for their treatment of Briseis and their burgeoning throuple status. Despite some highlights and some genuinely emotionally charged moments, I generally didn’t like this book. It’s written to be so flighty, so aloof, and so unearthly. It feels too light.
I've always been fascinated by the battle of Troy. There are so many different ways to tell that story, yet this one is completely new to me. Rather than following Achilles, this one follows in the first-person from Patroclus point of view, digging into his complicated relationship with Achilles. While the movie Troy does a great job of telling many things, it portrays Achilles much differently than Homer does in The Illiad. “The Song of Achilles” leans closer to Homers telling, shedding light on the secret affairs, dark prophecies and battle of egos.
This is literally a song of Achilles, all from the point of view of a doting, soft Patroclus - Achilles' childhood friend then lover. He waxes poetic about Achilles throughout the book and it gets a little grating, especially because it's all in his narration and he never actually says these things to Achilles himself.
Patroclus life is hard from the jump with a hateful father and a distant, insane mother (described constantly as simple or stupid). After he accidentally kills a nobleman's son over some dice he was given, he is sent into exile to Achilles' father's palace. The reason he ends up here is a little confusing if you don't already know the details of the legend, but it saves him in many ways. Achilles is quick to make a friend of Patroclus, probably out of curiosity as Patroclus is a very quite, broken child, reeling still from the accidental murder. Only after a few years and they're best friends does Patroclus risk a kiss on Achilles, but Achilles has gay panic and runs off - and, while they remain friends, they never speak of it. It's not until they're 16 and off training in the mountains with the ancient centaur Chiron that they finally come together as lovers. Achilles' demi-god/sea nymph mother Thetis is constantly meddling in their lives, thinking she's saving Achilles from his fate. She's described as something like the mermaids in Harry Potter and Patroclus is understandably afraid of her. It's her fault that Achilles' ends up in another kingdom, disguised as a dancing girl. There's a time jump here between them on the mountain and then Patroclus finding Achilles in this situation and I missed the why's and how's, but it's mostly Thetis' meddling. They're still found by the Greek generals and forced into service after Helen is "kidnapped." The middle of the book is mostly spent on ships or camping trying to get to Troy to fight and is honestly Boring. I don't think I would have kept going if I was reading this myself and not half-listening to the audiobook while working.Now, if you're like me and most of your knowledge of this comes from the 2004 Hollywood film "Troy" then this is where you'll start to recognize things - only it's from Patroclus' (Garret Hedlund's) POV so you see more of what Agamemnon and Achilles and the Spartans, etc. were up to outside the walls of Troy instead of the Trojans' side of things. The story of Troy with Paris, Hector, and Helen is actually pretty boring to me, because it's just a bunch of stupid adults acting like children and the gods putting their hand in things they shouldn't give two shits about, but seeing the other side kept me a little more engaged. The only issue is that since it's from Patroclus' POV who doesn't really fight until they breach Troy so you have to get through him being a camp wife for way too many chapters. He makes friends with the stolen Trojan women and doesn't do much else. At this point, I wish the book switches between Achilles' and Patroclus' POVs so we could get a little more action and see what's going on during the battle but alas. In the first battle of Troy, Patroclus has enough time to stare at the glistening, straining muscles of his boyfriend killing Trojans with a spear instead of doing any actual fighting himself. This is where the title of the book really lives up to itself and it gets a little nauseating. After this, instead of fighting, Patroclus is sent to the medical tent and it's interesting to hear how battle wounds may have been treated in these times. He was taught by Chiron in herbal medicine as well as fighting during his time in the mountains so this serves him here. This becomes his role in the camp as the years go on. Besides this brief stint in a single chapter, there's a whole lot of sitting around though. I guess that's why the war goes on for 10 years.It's at this point that you realise there's still a whole quarter of the book left and you despair.Almost everything after that point is politics and Achilles being a big baby guided by revenge until he's finally dead himself. The last quarter of the book is still from the now-dead Patroclus' POV but he's this floating spirit waiting for Achilles and then who's left to bury him, watching everything happen around him, only able to talk to demi-humans like Thetis. This is "canon" from the original Iliad but after over 7 hours of the book, I was ready to give up the ghost (pun intended).
Overall, I definitely wouldn't have finished this book if I had been reading it on my own. It's like a really dense high fantasy novel. The best parts are the small moments of interaction between our two main characters but those are only sprinkled in-between long bouts of battle and politics. This is a book that doesn't really fit into one genre - it's a romance, a military epic, high fantasy, and a coming-of-age tale at different moments. It's also ridiculously long and since I already knew the basic plot and how it ends, I was pretty bored through whole chapters. I'm not big on Greek mythos and that's kind of required. But it's definitely well written and Miller obviously knows her stuff (she has a MA in classics so yeah) so it will surely please people interested in all of that, as attested by the high rating and awards.
I listened to the Audible version narrated by Frazer Douglas. I'm pretty picky with voices which is why I don't really get through audiobooks easily but Douglas' voice was very nice and engaging. Note that there are graphic and sexually explicit scenes, both M/M and F/M, so not one you'd really want to listen to while in the office.
I would really love to be patroclus's buddy
every woman in this book is treated appallingly and it does grate on me
Patroclus is a nerd and it's not 1:1 with the Iliad but still beautiful. The ending makes the whole thing worth it.
This book has got to be one of my new favorite books. It's beautifully written and I recommend it to everyone.
This might be the first page-turner I've read in a long time, I legit had to pace myself to enjoy it longer. The romance is passionate and real, the mythmaking is exactly the kind of pulp I'm into. I'm embarrassed to say that this is the first book I've read that predominantly features an LGBT romance, but I'm happy to say it won't be the last
This novel is so vivid; every sentence is propelled by poetic motion more powerful than Shakespearian iambic. Sharp as talons and light as feathers, the prose catches you like a fish out of water. I loved how Miller brushes the Achaeans, who before have been morally anchored towards righteousness, towards what is right. The new seas of love, hope, and change pull the plot out from the Illiad's inexorable ending and point the reader towards a nuanced middle. The Song of Achillies asks what is inescapable: who we are or where we're going?
[must read]
This book is my "The Book". It's amazingly written and I've seriously suffered losses from its characters. Achilles and Patroclus' love story was so beautiful and poetic, it definitely enhanced the idea of this book being a retelling of an epic. It was very hard not to get lost in those pages, but at the same time, I had to stop myself from binge-reading it, so I could enjoy this masterpiece for longer. There is literally nothing wrong I can say about it, it is truly the most stunning book I've ever read and my absolute favourite.
And the writing itself! It was so delicious to read! "He is half of my soul, as the poets say." I love Madeline Miller! I cannot thank her enough for this amazing book!
BookTok actually got it right this time. This book left me with such a heavy heart—I just sat there for ten minutes, not moving. If I had been alone, I probably would have cried.
The Song of Achilles is a retelling of a small part of Greek mythology, focusing on two Greek princes: Achilles and Patroclus. Told from Patroclus' perspective, we follow their journey—from their first meeting, to growing up together, to falling in love. Achilles is destined to be the greatest warrior of the Greeks, while Patroclus is... just Patroclus. Their love story begins in Phthia, takes them to Troy, and eventually leads to the Trojan War.
That's all I'll say about the plot. Even though the ending is obvious, I went in with no knowledge of Greek mythology, and the book still hit me hard. Patroclus' narration is beautiful, and Madeline Miller's writing is effortless yet so powerful. Retelling mythology in a way that feels fresh and personal is no easy task, but she absolutely nails it.
You should read this book. No excuses. Don't worry if you're not familiar with mythology—just focus on the love between Patroclus and Achilles, and the forces that try to keep them apart. It's heartbreaking, but so worth it. Now, I will go to the bathroom and weep.
SO CO RRO PA TRO CLO
toda una experiencia haberlo leído con val xd
menos mal que fuimos al prado
I think I made a mistake by reading the Illead just before reading this, because I went into the story with a bunch of preconceived notions about the characters, and caught myself thinking, "This doesn't match Patroclus or Achilles as I know them," which I later realized was not a fair thought, because by the end, this story was very faithful to the source material, and it actually took until after I finished the book to respect that. So don't feel like you need to know the original first!!
On the whole, I thought it was a very entertaining and heartfelt book, and also a really cool modern way of learning about the ancient Greek stories. I learned afterwards that while the focus is on retelling The Illead from the perspective of Achilles' companion, Patroclus, it also draws from other ancient poems about Achilles and his family. I'd recommend it to anyone interested in the old stories but maybe not willing to be a Classics major and just wants a good story. It's very well written, and balances modern ideas and expectations against being true to the texts pretty masterfully.
To be honest, I struggled a bit at the beginning, because I wasn't very interested in kid-Patroclus. He struck me as mopey and uninteresting, and as I said, I expected him to be less wimpy, since in the Illead, he was probably one of the top ten most lethal warriors in the story. I also thought that the setup of a monogamous homosexual relationship was a bit too modern for ancient Greek culture, which favoured bisexuality and promiscuity.
All of my criticisms were actually addressed quite well later on, so I'm glad that I kept going, even though I wasn't enthusiastic at first.
The latter half of the book, I thoroughly enjoyed. Patroclus really comes into his own, and the invented backstory about what causes the strife between Achilles and the war's general Agamemnon was a brilliant twist on the original story. Ultimately, it actually felt like a great modernization of the ancient tale... Dare I say an improvement? It certainly makes Achilles a more sympathetic character, and does a lot of great storytelling about the inspirations behind the actions that take place in the poem. Some of it does feel a little too modern to me now and again, but stories need to evolve with the times so I didn't mind it.
And I loved the book's take on Odysseus. He's such a fun character, and Miller nails his spirit. So yeah, don't read the Classics first. If you really love this story, read the Classics after (Emily Wilson's versions).
“He is half of my soul, as the poets says”
the way i cried with this book is not funny
this is the perfect introduction to greek mythology
Absolutely loved it. Took me too long to finish it, but committing a couple of hours to finally power through really paid off. The second half during the battle of Troy was phenomenal and I ended up finishing the second half of the book across 2 days. Beautiful storytelling and happy to have finished it.
Contains spoilers
The beautiful thing about a tragedy is that even when you know it’s coming, if it’s executed well it’ll still hit you like a truck when it happens.
I think that the buildup to Patroclus’ death is far more sad than when it does occur. But the romance throughout between him and Achilles is beautiful and grand enough to glaze over the sort of so-so ending bits — until it swings back around for the final moments.
"in the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun."
pocas cosas marcaron tanto a mi yo de 15 como esta cita ! 💌
i can see why someone else would like it but i hated how the book was just Patroclus obsessing over Achilles without any further depth to the world or to the other characters
felt like i was just reading a fanfiction honestly; I do LOVE fanfiction, but I was expecting more from this book
i didn't cry trough the whole book. i already knew the history, so patroclo's dead didn't catch me out of guard. but that last chapter, omg. realising that the whole history was the things patroclo told tetis to convince her to let them reunite destroyed me. i don't know why, but i literally cried my heart out the moment when i put the book down. what a fucking beautiful story, i love how this woman writes, i can't wait to read circe