The Song of Achilles

From her bio, we can see that Miller really knows her stuff when it comes to Greek mythology. The writing for Song of Achilles is grounded, a focused, realistic story about the heroes as people. The chapters with Achilles and Patroclus as children through the beginning of their romance were compelling.

After that, I have to admit I lost interest. The Characters and their relationship don't evolve much from childhood. Any tension in the story is not between them. Briseis offering to bear Patroclus children doesn't make a conflict, especially since it's blown off. Generally, both men seem defanged from the Iliad.

I like Greek mythology, and that might be part of my problem with trying to love this book but not being able to do so; I have a strong idea in mind of what the characterizations should be and Song of Achilles doesn't fit that. The pair are gentle, misunderstood victims of fate. Patroclus is the most passive, and feels more like Achilles' pet. (One of the Greek warriors even refers to him as a “pet rabbit.” He exists for Achilles alone, no other purpose or drives. His inner monologue that he intends to die when Achilles does tells me that this is Miller's intention.

I'm guessing by how popular and highly-rated this book is, that it's just me. I didn't have the awesome, heart-rending experience that others had reading this book. Maybe I'm not into retellings of classics. Or I'm the wrong demographic. To quote Odysseus, “What is admired in one generation is abhorred in another.”