A review by kellan_writes
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
adventurous
emotional
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
3.75
This is the type of book you go in knowing the ending, much like watching Titanic. It is a moving story, and the justice done to the story of Patroclus and Achilles love is well told. The characters flew off the page in wonderous 3D.
However, as someone who read the Iliad and Odyssey for fun long before I had to for school, I felt that Achilles character was a little too sanitized and kind. His arrogance and Pride had always been his main faults, and they really only show in the last third of the book. This is likely unreliable narrator Patroclus, but I still feel it came across a little jarring.
Overall there, and enjoyable, if sad tale. It is the definition of this story is a love story, not a romance.
However, as someone who read the Iliad and Odyssey for fun long before I had to for school, I felt that Achilles character was a little too sanitized and kind. His arrogance and Pride had always been his main faults, and they really only show in the last third of the book. This is likely unreliable narrator Patroclus, but I still feel it came across a little jarring.
Overall there, and enjoyable, if sad tale. It is the definition of this story is a love story, not a romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, Grief, War, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Slavery