The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
A purer love story I haven’t yet found. Heartbreaking, painfully realistic in its dealing with gay romance and coming of age. Miller also portrays other characters beautifully and in a way that makes them recognisable within the massive web of the history and myths of Ancient Greece.
The Book
The Song of Achilles is a beautiful story of love and loss, ego and coming of age as well as the less talked about aspects of war and Ancient Greece such as abuse, slavery and rape. I would say that this book comes with a trigger warning just because of this content - so if you will find it a problem please do not read it.
That aside, this is a beautiful, beautiful book. Written lyrically and with so much empathy for Achilles and Patroclus and their relationship with each other. Especially considering their age when the book begins, this is written very sensitively and in a way that doesn’t feel voyeuristic or weird in any way, it shows the way that young LGBTQIA+ individuals often come to realise their sexuality and how beautiful, pure and natural that is.
As epic as the love story of Achilles and Patroclus, is the cast of characters that is on basically every single page. Ajax, Hector, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Briseis and Chiron to name a few… even a young Penelope and Helen. This is a star-studded cast and Miller really does them justice.
Another warning, I sobbed most of my way through this book so make sure you have chocolate and tissues nearby.
Ratings
Readability || *****
{ Readability: is the book easy to read, does it have simple yet effective language that is accessible and does it have a good flow}
This book is so readable, I finished it in 48 hours - totally raced through it and couldn’t put it down. The language is easy to get through with occasional Greek words which are then explained. Having a grasp of Greek mythology before reading will make this more enjoyable but Miller writes so well it’s not necessary to make the most of the story.
Structure || *****
Easy to read, the chapters are short enough to be really digestible and the pace is amazing.
Decadence || *****
So decadent. The love story, the descriptions of the landscapes, the way that the characters are presented… all of it is like ichor.
Review Accuracy || ***
Hmmmm honestly I was slightly disappointed reading the reviews. There were a lot of people who - like me - adored it. But there were also people who a) took their knowledge of Greek mythology to an obnoxiously academic level or b) missed the point of it entirely and were bored by it.