A review by danielles_reads
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Not a great start to my 2023 reading year 😬 Got sucked in by the hype… again.

Ending:

I did like the very end, and found it poetic. I thought it was a fitting end to the story to have

Spoiler

Thetis memorialize Patroclus and bring him to the Underworld to reunite with Achilles.

However, most everything else about the last bit of the book I did not like. Achilles became even more of an asshat than before, and it was infuriating to see Patroclus defend him even while arguing about ethics with him. His “this is not you, Achilles!” routine was utter bullshit. Like Patroclus, how have you not noticed how completely full of himself this guy has been in the almost twenty years you’ve known him?!?!

Writing:

Everyone talks about how beautiful the writing is in this, and I can see what they mean, as the prose does flow beautifully and I enjoyed the audio narrator’s performance. However, I couldn’t help but get distracted by the many ridiculous similes. “Our lips are like the fat bodies of bees, soft and round and giddy with pollen”, Achilles’ dick “soft as the delicate velvet of petals”, “the oars that fringed the boat like eyelashes,” “her long white throat, supple as a seal.” I’m sorry, but what? Also, Patroclus’ obsession over Achilles’ goddamn feet of all things was too much. I get it, they’re ~perfect and miraculous~ just like everything else about him!

I also just realized that their first kiss scene was randomly written in present tense, while the rest of the book is in past tense. What is that about?

Characters: 

Oh my god, everyone is trash in this except Briseis and Odysseus (and maybe Chiron too). Briseis for being loving and strong despite her shitty circumstances, and Odysseus for being funny and the only one who actually had personality (and I actually laughed at him telling Achilles’ son that he might be more famous than him one day LOL). Achilles was an insufferable Gary Stu who was described as perfection in every way (except for his constant narcissism). Patroclus had as much depth as soggy cardboard. It was so tiring to see him worship a man who didn’t deserve it, and do basically nothing outside of him. I had absolutely zero investment in their relationship, which began so quickly and randomly that I honestly have no idea why they even loved each other for any reason other than their bodies. I had no emotional reaction to

Spoiler

their deaths.

In addition, women were treated like absolute shit in this and it was goddamn tiring. Even Briseis had an awful ending that she didn’t deserve. And Patroclus blaming the war on Helen’s vanity was ridiculous, especially considering Achilles prioritized his so-called “honor” over his people’s lives. But what made me the most mad was

Spoiler

Deidama forcing Patroclus to have sex with her to seemingly get back at Achilles??? Obviously that wouldn’t work. It was random and disgusting and pointless, and didn’t even factor in later in the story. Fuck that.

Even Thetis was treated like shit considering she was fucking RAPED by Achilles’ dad and Patroclus was like “most women would be happy with a man like him”. Like I get it, Greek mythology was extremely sexist, but this is a modern retelling! The author couldn’t do anything differently? She just had to include a sexual assault scene that’s not in the original myth???

Plot / pacing:

The first half is very fast-paced, and then the story very much drags. The war felt a lot longer than 10 years lol. As I mentioned in the character section, I’m annoyed that Miller added even more sexism to the original myth, but otherwise she seems to have stayed close to the mythology (though I learned Patroclus was actually a great warrior in Homer’s version so it’s extremely disappointing that Miller made him lovesick and weak). I learned a lot about the myth of Achilles, which is cool. Where does his heel come in though?!

Enjoyment: 

Didn’t hate it, but definitely didn’t love it. Barely even liked it. A bit more wary of reading Circe now.

Also, I can’t help but feel that if this book was published today, in 2023, the reaction would have been very different. It was groundbreaking in 2011, when there was a dearth of queer adult books, but today there are so many wonderful choices with heartwarming and emotional relationships in them that are so much more enjoyable than this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexism, War, and Rape