Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

325 reviews

katiecoconut21's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad tense slow-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

4.0

Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles is definitely my favorite book from her. I will say that her writing felt quite a bit different than in Circe, and I believe it is because she was attempting to mimic the lyricism of The Illiad, The Odyssey, and Homer, which she did spectacularly well.

The relationships between the characters are what made me enjoy this book. The

tenderness between Patroclus and Achilles, and the somewhat-platonic love between Patroclus and Briseis

really made this book so enjoyable. Truly, Patroclus as the protagonist made this book, as

his love for Achilles never changes

, even as we see

Achilles change from the lovesick boy to the arrogant and vain hero

.

As much as this is advertised as a love story, I feel like people forget that it is also a tragedy, which is made so very clear in the book

according to all the prophecies about Achilles

. For me, though, the tragedy isn't in how Patroclus and Achilles are inevitably separated like in the old Greek epics, but how

Patroclus was slighted by Achilles time and time again (1. Achilles having sex and producing a child with Deidama, only to be upset when Patroclus suggests the same with Briseis, 2. Achilles nurturing his pride instead of helping prevent the massacre of the Greeks, even at Patroclus' begging, etc)

, and Patroclus continued to love him throughout. That's a tragedy if I've ever heard of one.

Having said that, Achilles' character development is masterfully done. You feel the tragedy of this through Patroclus' eyes and feelings, and Madeline Miller made me truly believe how her Achilles mirrored that of the Greek epics.

Very well done!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Slavery, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, and Pregnancy

zsabella's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Slavery, Violence, and War

Minor: Rape, Medical content, and Abandonment

k_fry's review against another edition

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

morbidgoogle's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad fast-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

Incredible book to read with my partner, took a couple of weeks of 15 minutes in the mornings. As two greek mythology nerds we appreciated the interpretation, and even though we knew the outcomes Miller writes tension and intrigue so well that we were still captivated and holding on with baited breath. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

chaneoosthuizen's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Sexual violence, Slavery, and Medical content

Minor: Misogyny and Rape

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.

elija_20's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

If you love writers who use a lot of similes and metaphors you will LOVE this book. The imagery is amazing and makes the characters and plot come to life on the page. I loved all the characters and their development throughout. All in all a really great book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Kidnapping, and Abandonment

hjb_128's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

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

shaun_dh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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? No

5.0

I came for the Greek stuff and stayed for the gay shit. The Song of Achilles is the most beautifully written love story I have ever read. It’s breathtaking. Stunning. A masterpiece 

I can’t remember the last time I cried this much over a book. I am a big Greek mythology nerd so I knew the story and the outcome, but Madeline Miller’s storytelling hits different. Her writing is so lyrical and plays out like a movie in my head

I cannot even come up with words for how much I love this because I’m still crying 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

Minor: Pregnancy