Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Das Lied des Achill by Madeline Miller

656 reviews

unoriginalusername's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

2.75

I was influenced by BookTok (and partially strong armed by a friend) to read this book. 
It’s a gorgeously written story about Achilles from Patroclus’ point of view. I admire the author for putting so much love and respect into this story, giving a stellar retelling to a famous story and looking at the relationships from a different perspective. Anyone who’s read anything about Achilles or the Trojan War should know what they’re getting into with this book. The topics are heavy, potentially triggering, and altogether realistic for the setting. That being said, I’m not a fan of Greek tragedy and only enjoyed the book when I was done with it. It’s very emotionally provocative, and it does it well. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual violence, Blood, and War

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Rape, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

It’s a Greek tragedy. Idk what else to say, other than it’s going to happen.

_mariah_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Violence, and War

Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, and Slavery

Minor: Homophobia and Pregnancy

mkdila's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

5.0

Such a devastatingly beautiful read. So much love and child-like wonder, but also terrible war and pride and what that does to relationships. Of course, also a heavy dose of mythology intertwined in this story made it very enjoyable as a Percy Jackson kid haha. 

(I did regrettably find out Spotify limits how many audiobook hours you get each month about halfway through this audiobook so be warned) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, and War

Moderate: Slavery

maresuju's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia, 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

yuknowihadtodoittoem's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Beautifully written book; the imagery is stunning. The dialogue was minimal from what I can remember, but the theme/message was insanely impactful.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and War

Minor: Homophobia and Violence

jenny_englishsnob's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The Song of Achilles is based on Greek mythology, but it doesn't just retell those myths; it is truly different and original. This is a tale of soul mates and selfless love that follows Achilles' epic journey through war, honor, and fate, blending moments of deep personal connection with grand mythological events. It is narrated by Patroclus, a young prince exiled by his father and taken in by Achilles' father (the king), and follows his life-changing bond with the hero. Miller's writing vividly captures this young love story, complete with longing, jealousy, ego, and questioning, in a very honest and beautiful way. There is a lot of death, sorrow, and violence, particularly toward the end—after all, we are talking about the battle for Troy, which lasted many years. This is my only criticism: how long and drawn out the war story became. The first 2/3 of the story was stronger. The fighting and revenge were exciting at first but got a little tedious toward the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War

Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual content

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

liamray's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Homophobia and Rape

turidt's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, and War

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail