Book Review- The Song of Achilles
I have finally finished this book and I am so happy I have!
For anyone who doesn't follow me on Goodreads, I started this in May and it has taken me 4 months to finally finish it. I picked it up in anticipation for Circe coming out, and it was another Kindle E-book deal so I got it for around $2.
Now be warned, this book may make you cry. Madeline's writing was beautiful, the feeling Patroclus had for Achilles were so sweet and heartbreaking.
For anyone who doesn't follow me on Goodreads, I started this in May and it has taken me 4 months to finally finish it. I picked it up in anticipation for Circe coming out, and it was another Kindle E-book deal so I got it for around $2.
Now be warned, this book may make you cry. Madeline's writing was beautiful, the feeling Patroclus had for Achilles were so sweet and heartbreaking.
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| The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller |
♥♥♥♥♥
Title: The Song of Achilles
Author: Madeline Miller
Published: 2011
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Genre: Historical Fiction
Plot: ♥♥♥♥♥
Characters: ♥♥♥♥♥
World Building: ♥♥♥♥♥
Flow: ♥♥♥♥♥
Synopsis:
Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.
Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.
Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.
Review*:
This book is a loose adaptation of the events that occurred in Homer's Illiad, which despite my love of Greek stories, I have not read. It is told in the POV of Patroclus, Achilles's companion, from his exile as a Prince to finally; the death of Achilles. All of our beloved characters are still there, from Odysseus and Agamemnon to Hector and Paris, and their relationship with the gods, both major and minor.
The beginning of the story was very slow for me, mostly due to the writing and the portrayal of Patroclus. We see how his father loathed him, the accidental murder that led him to Phthia, and the pressures of being a Prince all lifted from his shoulders. He then meets Achilles, the son of King Peleus and the nereid Thetis and the pair quickly become companions. Though through the beginning stages of their friendship, it is not clear if the feelings between them are romantic. Patroclus speaks of admiring the Prince through his lessons and when Achilles is sent to be taught by Chiron, Patroclus can't bear to be alone in Phthia and follows him up the mountain.
Through the story, Achilles visits his mother near the ocean and she makes it clear that she does not approve of Patroclus and his relationship with her son. Though being in a homosexual relationship was never considered taboo, Thetis feels that Patroclus will only hold Achilles back from the greatness he is destined to. Miller did a wonderful job portraying Thetis as a god and a villain. The Greek Gods have always been considered to have a few asshole tendencies, and the lesser known gods are even more assholes. So Thetis, who is a lesser known god, has a chip on her shoulder because her son was told to be the greatest Greek ever, and has the glory of her son compromised by other King's pride and his exiled prince ball and chain. Of course she's going to be nasty. I did appreciate though, at the end of the book while Patroclus's soul was stuck in the battlefield of Troy that we got to see the pair share their love for the same man in two different ways. It truly tugged on my heart strings.
Agamemnon reminded me exactly of the character in the 2004 movie Troy. Arrogant, prideful, and full of anger. I even pictured Menelaus to look like his character as well. Honestly, all but Patroclus was mentally filled in by the cast of Troy. While reading about his character, and how Patroclus spoke of pride and glory, it really transported me to what this piece of time was like. Without those qualities, the world may be drastically different than it is now, but to think that so much was driven based on a mans pride, superstition, and glory is quite impressive. Even within A Song of Achilles, we see Achilles himself falter from his own pride as Agamemnon takes his prisoner of war.
A little more than halfway through the book we make it to Troy, ready for war. At this point, the book really starts to pick up not just in plot and action, but also with the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. Now that they are men and Achilles is fulfilling his destiny; the proficy regarding Achilles has also been mentioned, including his death within the war of Troy. Patroclus, now full ingrained at Achilles's side as his lover is terrified of the predicted loss and tends to dwell on it. Even to the point that what could have been a swift war had been dragged out 10 years due to the stalemate between Achilles and Hector.
Finally, the gods have taken sides and the fates intervene by creating plague and rising tempers. Patroclus holds dearly to Achilles, but also comes to the realization that his lover will never be able to grow old with him. The glory that was once promised starts to dwindle with the tempers of men at war with everything to lose and eventually, the Greeks find themselves over-taken by the Trojan army and Achilles will still not put his pride aside. Patroclus sees whats tarnishing his lovers reputation as a hero and although he is not known as a skilled warrior, he tries to repair what has already been broken and fights as Achilles. In the end, he dies, as we all know. So does Achilles, as we also are aware of.
Now to focus on Patroclus, he is a great character all around but I kept wondering if there was any evidence in the Epics of his character matching the character in A Song of Achilles. He is soft-hearted compared to other men, especially Achilles, and teaches the Prince of Phthia compassion. Though there is no obvious chemistry between Achillles and Patroclus; reading how Patroclus feels about Achilles was heartbreaking. You could see that Patroclus would have done anything for Achilles, even concluding that once Achilles achieved his glory spelled out by the prophecy, he would follow him to death to remain at his side. Once Patroclus died the book continues in his POV, but as his soul stuck in the battlefield he perished in, and we see how the lose of Patroclus drives Achilles into such a grief.
The ending became really sad, Patroclus was so ready to meet Achilles in the after-life but was stuck because of the shame Achilles's son placed on their relationship. When Thetis finally released him it was a relief, but it also didn't seem very fleshed out for us to really understand what made her change her mind.
Now to focus on Patroclus, he is a great character all around but I kept wondering if there was any evidence in the Epics of his character matching the character in A Song of Achilles. He is soft-hearted compared to other men, especially Achilles, and teaches the Prince of Phthia compassion. Though there is no obvious chemistry between Achillles and Patroclus; reading how Patroclus feels about Achilles was heartbreaking. You could see that Patroclus would have done anything for Achilles, even concluding that once Achilles achieved his glory spelled out by the prophecy, he would follow him to death to remain at his side. Once Patroclus died the book continues in his POV, but as his soul stuck in the battlefield he perished in, and we see how the lose of Patroclus drives Achilles into such a grief.
The ending became really sad, Patroclus was so ready to meet Achilles in the after-life but was stuck because of the shame Achilles's son placed on their relationship. When Thetis finally released him it was a relief, but it also didn't seem very fleshed out for us to really understand what made her change her mind.
This has been an extremely long review, but I really enjoyed the book once we got 1/2 way through. I feel like there is a lot more I could cover, but I don't think anyone has time for that.
If you read this book, let me know what you thought in the comments below.
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