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hayreading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
I was honestly expecting it to devastate me more. Very enjoyable book, I was always wanting more. Loses points because I hated Achilles in the last third so much I lost a lot of emotion around him dying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and War
sreddous's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
This is a well-crafted, well-paced, emotional historical fiction.
The descriptions of war are disgusting and immersive in the best ways, I could feel each spear butting me in the stomach. It's really cool to have two characters that approach war/glory/etc. differently and we get a good portion of both perspectives to really get a good picture of what war could be like.
The romantic timeline and pacing I also thought was fantastic. The innuendos and tension early in the story set up good tension, and the ending was truly heartbreaking with enough time spent on each of the feelings the characters were working through. The pacing was really just perfect here -- I never felt bored or stagnant but also never felt like very important feelings and character motivations or lessons learned were rushed.
The only thing I found myself wishing was really different was: I do really wish there was "more" to Patroclus in the first 1/3 of the book to make it clear why Achilles started to like him over the other boys. I like very much that later in the book Patroclus found his talents in medicine and that's interesting - I find myself wishing he was showing signs of being good at stuff like that early so Achilles had a reason early in the book to find him 'special/different' and be therefore interested in him. It felt kind of strange when Achilles was defending their friendship to his dad by saying "I find him interesting" and I kind of thought "lol why" at that time in the story. Still, this point does resolve itself and their chemistry and connection later is really believable, so it's mostly-minor for me as a whole.
Good stuff!
The descriptions of war are disgusting and immersive in the best ways, I could feel each spear butting me in the stomach. It's really cool to have two characters that approach war/glory/etc. differently and we get a good portion of both perspectives to really get a good picture of what war could be like.
The romantic timeline and pacing I also thought was fantastic. The innuendos and tension early in the story set up good tension, and the ending was truly heartbreaking with enough time spent on each of the feelings the characters were working through. The pacing was really just perfect here -- I never felt bored or stagnant but also never felt like very important feelings and character motivations or lessons learned were rushed.
The only thing I found myself wishing was really different was: I do really wish there was "more" to Patroclus in the first 1/3 of the book to make it clear why Achilles started to like him over the other boys. I like very much that later in the book Patroclus found his talents in medicine and that's interesting - I find myself wishing he was showing signs of being good at stuff like that early so Achilles had a reason early in the book to find him 'special/different' and be therefore interested in him. It felt kind of strange when Achilles was defending their friendship to his dad by saying "I find him interesting" and I kind of thought "lol why" at that time in the story. Still, this point does resolve itself and their chemistry and connection later is really believable, so it's mostly-minor for me as a whole.
Good stuff!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence
minnow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
As a huge fan of Greek mythology, and after hearing all of the praise for Circe, I expected this to be a 5-star read for me. I was pretty disappointed in this novel. It's just too heavy-handed with the descriptions. Every single thing is described in minute detail. I don't need to know every time the character has the tiniest feeling. I don't need a paragraph-long description of an item that has no importance to the story whatsoever. I don't need to know the hundred tiny gestures or expressions a character is making when those emotions are then repeated in the dialogue. It creates redundancy and weighs down the story. There are scenes stretching over chapters that could have been reduced to a few paragraphs, improving the pacing of the story. There's a time and place for heavy descriptions and I did not feel that discernment was exercised here.
I did, however, feel that this story did a fantastic job of portraying love in a way that was intense but not cringey.
I did, however, feel that this story did a fantastic job of portraying love in a way that was intense but not cringey.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, and War
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abandonment
maddiepaige's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
linnau's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Abandonment
cats33's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Oh my heart always has space for Achilles and Patroclus. Gosh I love these two. Beautiful story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
davidalanyoung's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
As a long time fan of Greek mythology, I was a bit nervous to pick this book up. Gay literature is usually hit or miss and I wasn’t quite confident this was a hit. I am glad I did. What a delightful read. And typical of Greek stories, a tragic but beautiful one. Would recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
areadnes's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.75
don’t let the rating fool you — i enjoyed the song of achilles. sure, it didn’t really emotionally capture me as much as the majority of its audience, but i still had a lot of fun reading it regardless. if anything, i think it was my own expectations that dampened the experience and that’s just plainly on me. this is madeline miller’s first novel, after all, and despite whatever criticisms i have i think it’s still a feat to have something like this be your debut novel. achilles & patroclus’ relationship is very touching and there is no shortage of side characters to keep things interesting (love you odysseus <3). all in all, a good read and an emotional ride.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Violence, and War
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, and Murder
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
bearbutch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Absolutely beautiful book, down to its writing, its characterisation, its imaginings. Couldn’t recommend more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Slavery
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. Thetenderness 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 bookaccording 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!
The relationships between the characters are what made me enjoy this book. The
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
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!
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