Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

84 reviews

mangofraiche's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

k_fry's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Such a tender retelling of Achilles and Patroclus from Patroclus perspective. It’s literature that feels accessible - a relatively easy read as far as the language used but I found myself thinking about symbolism, foreshadowing, etc. constantly while reading. I kicked my feet giddily and cried a LOT - it was perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse

chimera_moth's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Classism

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

viaanne's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

wildflower_magic's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

What a beautiful retelling of the story of Achilles. I swooned over the portrayal of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus and I think Patroclus was the perfect narrator for the story. Madeline Miller did a fantastic job of holding true to the original stories while also creating something unique and special within that story. The writing style was gorgeous: perfectly flowery and song-like just like the myths would have been told. The character development was so interesting. A month later and I still think about how this book ended! This book gives a lot of opportunities to reflect on the age-old debate: do we have control, or is it up to fate? 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, Homophobia, Infidelity, Transphobia, Dementia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Outing, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy

jls6283's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

2.25

I had high hopes for this since it’s been all over booktok, but it was not for me. The beginning was slow and the only world-building was in the form of mythology name dropping. Since I find myself rusty on those names, I’m sure many of the references were lost on me… 

Also few of the characters were likable…mostly just Briseis. Patroclus does go from mildly annoying 10-year-old to a noble man by the end. The “hero” on the other hand… 🙄

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Child death, Sexual content, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Slavery, and Pregnancy

goemonxiii's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted sad fast-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

3.5

I don't normally read books like Song of Achilles, but it was thoroughly enjoyable for what it was. I liked viewing Greek Mythology through the lens of Patroclus, Patroclus and Achilles' relationship was interesting to read about, and I like how this book is introducing a new generation to Greek Mythology. Is this book a must read? No. Is it good? For what it is, yes. The only thing I didn't like was the "passive voice" in later chapters when major things are happening (hopefully you'll understand what I mean if/when you read it). But, for young adult fiction, the plot wasn't stupid, there weren't any glaring problems in terms of themes or messaging, and it was well-written in terms of word choices and how the story was presented.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and War

Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Classism

lots of death, sad ending

, toxic parents, deals with the conflict of destiny versus identity, children being sent to war, deals with the consequences of war, passing mention of infanticide

cnannery19's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jhbandcats's review

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

(I just accidentally deleted my long review so this is a shorter version.) This book is extraordinary, so, so, SO good. For books this fabulous, there needs to be rating of 5+ stars. 

The author gives us a love story for the ages, as we watch Achilles grow from childhood to his late 20s, his life intertwined with that of Patroclus, his companion from the age of eleven. This book is beautiful and powerful and vivid, and I was entranced by both the characters and their stories. 

I have always loved Greek myths. My reading this just confirms my bewilderment that people ever stopped worshipping the Greek gods; they are all of us, our worst and our best selves, our love and jealousy and anger and wisdom.

Again, I must repeat that this book is extraordinary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

nottheexplorer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Abandonment

Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Cannibalism, Alcohol, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic