Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Song of Achilles

I don't think there's ever going to be a book that's better than this one. Holy fuck.

The prose is absolutely beautiful—there's a reason there's so many iconic quotes. I ended up loving Achilles, Patroclus, and their relationship so much, which is a feat because I normally don't care about book characters. The hundreds of parallels and foreshadowing, which makes me die even more inside when I realized the book is Patroclus recalling his memories to Thetis. How the book shifts from past to present tense after his death. How the book is called "The Song of Achilles" despite his love for music rarely getting brought up after the first half, and how the wooden sculpture of a boy playing a lyre that Patroclus made for him gets lost too.

I know some people have their criticisms about how they toned down the horrible things Achilles did and instead added them to other characters in order to glorify their relationship, but I understand why Miller had to do this. I don't think a main character in a book intended for the average and modern audience can ever get away with SA. Achilles is still almost a morally black character with that removed.

Ah, Achilles. I have never felt as mixed of an emotion about a character ever, but he's both incredibly infuriating and so interesting to study under a microscope. I understood why he chose to be remembered after death by strangers over his life because he was brought up to be the <i>Aristos Achaion</i> his entire life. You can see the impact of this since the very first page he was introduced, since we even knew his name. I was also intrigued by how he was grieving over Agamemnon killing his daughter in front of him but the second he kills his first Trojan, he was loving it. It's like he always had an inner monster, his killing machine self inside of him, just waiting to be unleashed despite his cheerful exterior. The way his father told him to dehumanize his victims to kill them but he didn't think at all when he did. How he casually talks about killing Briseis' and Hector's wife's family and how he pressed against Patroclus after he killed 12 people on his first day. It's like his body moves without thinking. But then he sits out of the war and purposely urges the gods to help the Trojans' side because Agamemnon insulted his pride. I'll admit, that's because I want their bad decisions to be mainly their fault. If I pick his brain a little bit, I can sympathize with how he was promised that the war wouldn't go on for too long and that he would be the judge of himself, but then Agamemnon fucked it all up. I think it's interesting how he defended Patroclus against those who don't think he's worthy but then he starts getting more and more egotistical because of praise.

But that's the thing, isn't it? It was always doomed to happen, unless they were different people completely. They would always make the same decisions, no matter how dumb they would be.

Some of my favorite moments:
- Their first kiss and how Patroclus described it as "the fat bodies of bees"
- "Is it not a sort of genius to cut always to the heart?"
- Patroclus kissing a bloody Achilles to let Briseis know they won't hurt her because of the language barrier
- Patroclus begging Achilles and pulling out the "if you loved me" card but Achilles loved his pride more than Patroclus
- Their last interaction was a goodbye kiss and handhold
- Patroclus almost becoming Achilles' alter ego when he donned his armor, maybe because he used to be jealous of him and watched him from afar
- Patroclus climbing the walls of Troy like Sisyphus out of sheer determination to end the war and save Achilles' life, even though he once said it looks so high, nobody could possibly ever climb it
- Achilles' first instinct to realizing Patroclus died was to cut his throat and rip his hair out
- Achilles wrapping Patroclus' corpse in a blanket and putting him on their bed despite them both smelling
- Briseis cleaning Patroclus' corpse, Achilles getting possessive, and him yelling at her
- "There are no bargains between lion and men. I will kill you and eat you raw."
- Achilles wanting to die but his body wouldn't let him until he finally did, smiling as his face struck the earth
- Patroclus haunting everyone's dreams and Achilles' grave because sleep is so similar to death

Thanks to this book for making me fall back into my Greek Mythology phase and consuming every possible media of them. I truly will love them in every universe.

Content Warnings

bearbutch's review against another edition

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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

katiecoconut21's review against another edition

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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!

Content Warnings

littlepaw's review against another edition

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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

4.5

The book is twined in love and human err. The beauty and divinity love can create that is beyond Gods’. Yet the fragility of man to fail at the storm’s of life and choices that dissolves into the sea of stories, among the swirls of men and mortal wishes and their immortal goodness tweaked and juggled by Fates. “The Song of Achilles”, is one such book that beyond it’s magnanimity, speaks about the niche of human emotions. Patroclus and Achilles became the “best of all the Greeks” and “best of all the men” because they had each other at their best, worst and in their nothingness.

Content Warnings

fakeppy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

4.5

So very beautifully written. It was a pleasure to read!

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