Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

1689 reviews

bree_of_the_woods's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely fantastic! An epic telling of Achilles and Patroclus, from their boyhood adventure to their deep and unwavering love. Miller weaves together the myths we know, with new ideas to create a version of this story that is rich with emotion, and gripped my attention to the very end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, War, Violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Murder

Moderate: Rape and Slavery

cami1107's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, Murder, and Misogyny

Minor: War and Sexual assault

thaliareads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

As a Percy Jackson kid, I had a feeling I would really enjoy this book and I was correct. It was an interesting retelling of Achilles life as experienced by Patroclus. It was a brilliant reimagining of the Iliad and had my attention throughout the entirety of the novel. It was heart wrenching and heart breaking but ultimately worth every ounce of pain.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Sexual violence and Slavery

I'm behind on reviews and it's been a few weeks since I read the book so I likely missed a couple of content warnings.

jadonmorgs's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Genocide, War, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault

pigeongreen's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is a beautiful story that expounds on the classic Greek mythology that most of us are somewhat familiar with. We experience the depth of joy, grief, loss, and anger with the characters, and fall in love with the lovers. Dialogue is purposefully sparse and formal, supporting the rich character development via the narrator, Patroclus. We see through his eyes and hear his thoughts and feelings, relating to other characters through him. A must read. Tragic and gorgeous. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Gore, Grief, Animal death, and Child death

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Violence, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

holly86's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

3ofclubs's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Read it very quickly and it was a fun read. Feel like I learned some stuff about the Achilles myth/story. Felt like most of the side characters did not have much personality (but maybe that was part of the point, with the narrator's focus being entirely on Achilles and himself, which was an interesting and useful perspective/effect).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Murder

booksemmahasread's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Slavery, War, Violence, Death of parent, Blood, Death, Classism, and Grief

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Child death, Abandonment, and Pregnancy

mirissab's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I only picked this book up because I want to read Circe but I didn't want to feel like I was missing anything.

Spoiler

I'd been so against reading romance until this point, but I underestimated (or failed to get the hint when reading the back cover) the depth and centrality of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus when choosing this book at the library.

I was not in the slightest disappointed by my decision. I haven't read a book in a while to where it felt like I was halfway through running a 5k and this story was my rewarded tiny two ounce paper cup of water. My heart quickened in moments of peril or suspense, and ached in sadness and love. I couldn't get the words off the page fast enough. I haven't had much engagement with Greek mythology since primary school, but my interest has been struck anew. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Outing, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Kidnapping, Medical content, and Slavery

pjdotcom's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Violence, Grief, Torture, Gore, Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Rape, Body horror, and Pregnancy