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honeycuttsp's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Excrement, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
christinereichard's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
A tale of loyal lifelong love. My high expectations were pretty much met.
Very mixed feelings on Achilles, but I loved Patroclus individually and watching his personhood develop into something so kind and deserving. That being said, all the blame fell lopsided onto Achilles and I think it would've been fun to explore Patroclus' flaws too.
Very mixed feelings on Achilles, but I loved Patroclus individually and watching his personhood develop into something so kind and deserving. That being said, all the blame fell lopsided onto Achilles and I think it would've been fun to explore Patroclus' flaws too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy
bill369's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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
5.0
In History and Literature, we are currently learning about antiquity, so I thought it was the perfect time to finally read this book. I didn't expect to be this devastated...
My favourite character, well I love Achilles and Patroclus of course, I love them deeply, honestly, I can't even express it. Then there's Briseis she's my 3rd most favourite. She's intelligent, crafty, loving, she always stood by his side and if you read the book, then you know who I'm talking about. Her part in the story was significant and I'm glad it was her and not some other character. I truly wish it had all ended less tragically, therefore they could live all happy long life. About Thetis, I never really liked her, nevertheless because of the last few pages my heart has melted for her. I feel as if I finally get her a little bit and so even though I hate how she acted, I understand it.
The theme, greek mythology is interesting and tragic. This is my first book with this theme and I do love it. It's informative and in the same time full of emotions. Can't complain. In my opinion, I have remembered a lot and will have the knowledge for future means.
I loved all the parts and most of the themes were my favourite. That's why I'll be sharing the last lines of the story, which are, in my opinion, the most heartbreaking. They just really got to me. Lines:THE SUN IS SETTING over the sea, spilling its colors on the water’s surface. She is beside me, silent in the blurry, creeping dusk. Her face is as unmarked as the first day I saw her. Her arms are crossed over her chest, as if to hold some thought to herself. I have told her all. I have spared nothing, of any of us. We watch the light sink into the grave of the western sky. “I could not make him a god,” she says. Her jagged voice, rich with grief. But you made him. She does not answer me for a long time, only sits, eyes shining with the last of the dying light. “I have done it,” she says. At first I do not understand. But then I see the tomb, and the marks she has made on the stone. ACHILLES, it reads. And beside it, PATROCLUS. “Go,” she says. “He waits for you.” IN THE DARKNESS, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.
The ending was tragic, full of pain, it brought me severe agony. These were the biggest tears I've had so far in my short life. I just want to say, that I appreciate Thetis for what she's done, because if she hadn't done it, then I wouldn't fall asleep tonight. This way the end is bearable.
It's a five star because it thought me something, it wasn't boring and I finished it after a few days, however most importantly it made me bowl and feel extremely strong emotions, mostly sadness, but that doesn't matter. I have no bad things to say. I don't regret reading it and I will recommend it.
My favourite character, well I love Achilles and Patroclus of course, I love them deeply, honestly, I can't even express it. Then there's Briseis she's my 3rd most favourite. She's intelligent, crafty, loving, she always stood by his side and if you read the book, then you know who I'm talking about. Her part in the story was significant and I'm glad it was her and not some other character. I truly wish it had all ended less tragically, therefore they could live all happy long life. About Thetis, I never really liked her, nevertheless because of the last few pages my heart has melted for her. I feel as if I finally get her a little bit and so even though I hate how she acted, I understand it.
The theme, greek mythology is interesting and tragic. This is my first book with this theme and I do love it. It's informative and in the same time full of emotions. Can't complain. In my opinion, I have remembered a lot and will have the knowledge for future means.
I loved all the parts and most of the themes were my favourite. That's why I'll be sharing the last lines of the story, which are, in my opinion, the most heartbreaking. They just really got to me. Lines:
The ending was tragic, full of pain, it brought me severe agony. These were the biggest tears I've had so far in my short life. I just want to say, that I appreciate Thetis for what she's done, because if she hadn't done it, then I wouldn't fall asleep tonight. This way the end is bearable.
It's a five star because it thought me something, it wasn't boring and I finished it after a few days, however most importantly it made me bowl and feel extremely strong emotions, mostly sadness, but that doesn't matter. I have no bad things to say. I don't regret reading it and I will recommend it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Violence, and War
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Blood, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, and Sexual harassment
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.5
THE SONG OF ACHILLES is the story of Achilles’s boyhood and (most of) the Trojan War, as told by his lover, Patroclus. Patroclus’ focus is ever on Achilles, for Achilles is Patroclus’ love and it’s so moving to tell this story through the warm glow of that adoration and desire.
I like how it handles the very high number of sexual assaults and consent violations which are, in many ways, the backbone of Greek mythology (or at least the family trees). Just giving proper context to this story and to events in Patroclus' and Achilles' lives requires some discussion of these themes, and I think it did as well as it could without feeling very anachronistic. This is a beautiful retelling of a tragic story, it makes me wish that Achilles, Patroclus, and Breisis could have been happy together, but it wasn't meant to be.
This retelling takes the stance that Achilles was definitely gay, with zero interest in women, and it seems to heavily imply that maybe Patroclus could have been happy with a woman but he has eyes only for Achilles. That does however lead to some interesting story decisions which have to be resolved, given the source material. It keeps one very notable instance of Achilles sleeping with a woman, and artfully dodges another that would be assumed to have happened but technically could be worked around. It did give it a kind of biphobic air to this retelling, like it's working so hard to show the love and devotion between Achilles and Patroclus that it shoves away any hint of intimacy or connection with women on Achilles' part. I'm not a Classics scholar and I don't know if the rejection is part of the myth, it just felt kind of bad in a few places because of it. It ends up working as part of Achilles' slow transformation from a kid who didn't want to hurt anyone into a stubborn asshole who let a lot of people die for his pride, but it did make me dislike him by the end. Patroclus' has a consistently rosy view of Achilles and mourns this change rather than rejecting him for it, which definitely helped me keep caring about the story even as I liked Achilles himself less and less.
I liked it overall and I'm glad I read it, anything that manages to make Achilles feel like slightly less of an asshole than most portrayals of him is doing a great job, and this manages that without stripping away the abrasive parts of his character.
I like how it handles the very high number of sexual assaults and consent violations which are, in many ways, the backbone of Greek mythology (or at least the family trees). Just giving proper context to this story and to events in Patroclus' and Achilles' lives requires some discussion of these themes, and I think it did as well as it could without feeling very anachronistic. This is a beautiful retelling of a tragic story, it makes me wish that Achilles, Patroclus, and Breisis could have been happy together, but it wasn't meant to be.
This retelling takes the stance that Achilles was definitely gay, with zero interest in women, and it seems to heavily imply that maybe Patroclus could have been happy with a woman but he has eyes only for Achilles. That does however lead to some interesting story decisions which have to be resolved, given the source material. It keeps one very notable instance of Achilles sleeping with a woman, and artfully dodges another that would be assumed to have happened but technically could be worked around. It did give it a kind of biphobic air to this retelling, like it's working so hard to show the love and devotion between Achilles and Patroclus that it shoves away any hint of intimacy or connection with women on Achilles' part. I'm not a Classics scholar and I don't know if the rejection is part of the myth, it just felt kind of bad in a few places because of it. It ends up working as part of Achilles' slow transformation from a kid who didn't want to hurt anyone into a stubborn asshole who let a lot of people die for his pride, but it did make me dislike him by the end. Patroclus' has a consistently rosy view of Achilles and mourns this change rather than rejecting him for it, which definitely helped me keep caring about the story even as I liked Achilles himself less and less.
I liked it overall and I'm glad I read it, anything that manages to make Achilles feel like slightly less of an asshole than most portrayals of him is doing a great job, and this manages that without stripping away the abrasive parts of his character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Biphobia and Cannibalism
CW for possible biphobia, major character death (graphic).kingaw's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Cannibalism
anni_swanilda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
emfass's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
5.0
I know so many of the ins and outs of the Trojan War, having been a Greek mythology fan since I was a kid. Given that, I didn't really expect this book to show me much that would be new to me about this story. I have never been so happy to be so wrong. I also adored Miller's Circe and didn't think I could love anything as much as that book, but Song of Achilles may have just surpassed it.
The story is told entirely from Patroclus's point of view. It is gorgeous and lyrical and heartbreaking. The weaving of his relationship with Achilles was so quiet and nuanced, and bound them together so deftly. The way Miller used foreshadowing, especially for those who know the end of the story, was so well done and made it all the more poignant as we went through.
I finished this book before I went to bed and walked around the house in a daze the next day, barely able to function. It's been a while since a book had that effect on me.
The audiobook, narrated by Frazer Douglas, was very well done. I will definitely be revisiting this one, it's going firmly on my favorites shelf.
The story is told entirely from Patroclus's point of view. It is gorgeous and lyrical and heartbreaking. The weaving of his relationship with Achilles was so quiet and nuanced, and bound them together so deftly. The way Miller used foreshadowing, especially for those who know the end of the story, was so well done and made it all the more poignant as we went through.
I finished this book before I went to bed and walked around the house in a daze the next day, barely able to function. It's been a while since a book had that effect on me.
The audiobook, narrated by Frazer Douglas, was very well done. I will definitely be revisiting this one, it's going firmly on my favorites shelf.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Outing, and Abandonment
Minor: Transphobia, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
wthanyell's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“I could recognise him by touch alone, by smell, I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world."
Yes I know everyone uses that quote but it could not be helped.
This book had me hooked from very early on. There was something about the descriptive style of writing that held me; it was effortless to read and despite alot of adjectives being thrown in all the time it didn't halt the experience. I was in awe of how attached I was to the characters from the get-go, I was giddy with excitement over how they came to grow together. It did feel odd to have this sort of reaction over CHILDREN but eventually they were fully-fledged adults and I didn't feel so bad about it. The fact that I knew little to nothing about Greek mythology did not severely impact my experience. What I need to know is laid out for me. However, I think someone who did have previous knowledge of Greek mythology could potentially gain more from reading this text than I did.
I'm not sure why, but this book reminded me of my reading experience with The Wrath & The Dawn so much but I cannot pinpoint why.
The most interesting part of this reading experience was how much my perception of the characters changed throughout the novel, I did not think that I could feel differently toward any of them but was proven wrong in the end.
I would like to read more books of this style in the future, those that are based on Greek mythology as it is an interesting topic to me.
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 4/5
Yes I know everyone uses that quote but it could not be helped.
This book had me hooked from very early on. There was something about the descriptive style of writing that held me; it was effortless to read and despite alot of adjectives being thrown in all the time it didn't halt the experience. I was in awe of how attached I was to the characters from the get-go, I was giddy with excitement over how they came to grow together. It did feel odd to have this sort of reaction over CHILDREN but eventually they were fully-fledged adults and I didn't feel so bad about it. The fact that I knew little to nothing about Greek mythology did not severely impact my experience. What I need to know is laid out for me. However, I think someone who did have previous knowledge of Greek mythology could potentially gain more from reading this text than I did.
I'm not sure why, but this book reminded me of my reading experience with The Wrath & The Dawn so much but I cannot pinpoint why.
The most interesting part of this reading experience was how much my perception of the characters changed throughout the novel, I did not think that I could feel differently toward any of them but was proven wrong in the end.
I would like to read more books of this style in the future, those that are based on Greek mythology as it is an interesting topic to me.
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 4/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Homophobia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, and Cannibalism
blyndwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Absolutely stunningly written (this book has magnificent quotes for days) and heart-wrenchingly emotional, I found this unique retelling of the Trojan War to be exceedingly refreshing.
I read this book as a method of stress-relief during final exams and it just made me feel like all my real-life problems were insignificant as hell. I would give anything to have a love like Achilles and Patroclus; their relationship made me feel SO warm and fuzzy. I definitely squealed with delight on multiple occasions at the cutesy bits, and I loved that their relationship wasn’t perfectly linear. I liked how there was significant and meaningful emphasis on the flaws of the characters, whether they be god, mortal, or somewhere in between.
The ending was absolutely perfect. Thetis’ anger and intervention throughout their relationship paired with her actions in the final pages was just 🤌🏼 *chef’s kiss*.
RATING:
The reason I rated 4.5/5 is because I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I would’ve liked to be near the end – I wanted this book to make me scream in despair and sob until I couldn’t sob anymore, however I had a 2 month break between reading the first 4/5 and the last 5th, which likely ruined my immersion. I also found the pacing to be quite slow in some parts. Everything else was perfect. I definitely think everyone should read this book before they die.
I read this book as a method of stress-relief during final exams and it just made me feel like all my real-life problems were insignificant as hell. I would give anything to have a love like Achilles and Patroclus; their relationship made me feel SO warm and fuzzy. I definitely squealed with delight on multiple occasions at the cutesy bits, and I loved that their relationship wasn’t perfectly linear. I liked how there was significant and meaningful emphasis on the flaws of the characters, whether they be god, mortal, or somewhere in between.
RATING:
The reason I rated 4.5/5 is because I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I would’ve liked to be near the end – I wanted this book to make me scream in despair and sob until I couldn’t sob anymore, however I had a 2 month break between reading the first 4/5 and the last 5th, which likely ruined my immersion. I also found the pacing to be quite slow in some parts. Everything else was perfect. I definitely think everyone should read this book before they die.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Slavery and Cannibalism
taleofabibliophile's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Slavery
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Medical content, and Cannibalism