A review by goldshard13
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

5.0

"Name one hero who was happy."

I considered. Heracles went mad and killed his family; Theseus lost his bride and father; Jason's children and new wife were murdered by his old; Bellerophon killed the Chimera but was crippled by the fall from Pegasus' back.

"You can't." He was sitting up now, leaning forward.

"I can't."

"I know. They never let you be famous and happy." He lifted an eyebrow. "I'll tell you a secret."

"Tell me.' I loved it when he was like this.

"I'm going to be the first." He took my palm and held it to his. "Swear it."

"Why me?"

"Because you're the reason. Swear it."

"I swear it."

I'm not sure why I haven't reviewed this sooner, considering it's one of my favorite books of all time.

Chiron had said once that nations were the most foolish of mortal inventions. “No man is worth more than another, wherever he is from.”

“But what if he is your friend?” Achilles had asked him, feet kicked up on the wall of the rose-quartz cave. “Or your brother? Should you treat him the same as a stranger?”

“You ask a question that philosophers argue over,” Chiron had said. “He is worth more to you, perhaps. But the stranger is someone else’s friend and brother. So which life is more important?”

I know, now, how I would answer Chiron. I would say: there is no answer. Whichever you choose, you are wrong.

Achilles, best of the Greeks, was born the son of a king, Peleus, and a sea goddess, Thetis. Patroclus was a prince exiled after he accidently murdered someone as a boy (you know, as one does). The two are captivated by each other and, despite risking the wrath of the gods, fall deeply in love. When Achilles is given a choice, a long life of mediocracy or a short life of glory, he choses the latter. Patroclus, fearful but unwilling to leave him, follows. But because Achilles cannot die until he kills Hector, he puts it off to extend his life, saying, "What has Hector ever done to me?"

Any who are familiar with the story of the Iliad, however, see the irony in this and can do nothing but await, in dread, of what is to come. Personally, I love stories like that; when you already know the ending but can't help falling in love with the characters and the story anyway.

"But fame is a strange thing. Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired in one generation is abhorred in another."

Achilles is a brilliant fighter, known in myth for his strength and skill, but there is more to his character than the violence he inflicted on the Trojans. We see him through Patroclus's eyes; that he was still capable of love, humanity, and compassion.

"He is half of my soul, as the poets say."

Very Very Good Book. A must read for anyone who loves Greek mythology.

“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”