Spoilery Book Reviews

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Back of the book

Greece in the age of the heroes. Awkward young prince Patroclus has been exiled to the court of King Peleus. Despite their differences, Peleus's golden boy Achilles befriends the shamed prince. As they grow into young men, their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles's mother, the sea goddess Thetis.

But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfil his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him.

My thoughts

This book is awesome. I have a mild interest in Greek mythology, I enjoy the stories, although majority of my understanding is about the basic events of the stories, having not found them written out in wonderful fiction form. This book brings to life the ancient Greece from which all the mythology comes from and makes me wish Madeline Miller would re-write all the Greek myths in this immersive and personal style (she has another book Circe from Greek mythology).

The book is from Patroclus's point of view, and spans his whole life, from his earliest memories to death. The writing style took me a little while to get used to, it didn't feel as if it flowed as easily as some other books, but that was only in the beginning. That could have been because a lot of names (kings, heroes, places) were used in the beginning, and I felt a little lost within them. A few I recognised (Odysseus, Zeus, Heracles) but most I didn't, and it seemed important to understand what king ruled where and whose son belonged to each father and so forth. The story became a lot easier to follow once it narrowed down to be about just Patroclus and Achilles, and the handful of other important roles that were introduced when the war came around were easier to keep straight. Perhaps all those names would make sense for someone who is familiar with Greek mythology but I felt it tried introducing way too many names. Nonetheless most are minor characters that don't interfere with the main story and major players are re-introduced with better context further in so it doesn't tarnish the story too much, but maybe some characters didn't need to be name dropped at all.

Despite it not feeling as easy to read, it is written excellently. Madeline Miller uses a lot of metaphor for descriptors which creates a very vivid image while reading. The Greek mythology setting dips its toe into fantasy with the involvement and influence of the Gods so metaphor works well at blurring lines between real and possible. The effect results in highly impactful and sensory story-telling.

It would have been nice to have a little map of ancient Greece because place names are regularly mentioned and location does hold importance to each part of the story. If the story was in the modern world a curious person could easily find a map for more clarification however since the place names are outdated, a little map with the specific points of interest would have been a nice addition.

I really liked that this book told a whole life story, which probably isn't a rare type of book, but it's not something I've read much before. It also very smartly chose to narrate from Patroclus's point of view, as opposed to Achilles, when the story is about him. Patroclus is a much more relatable character, a literal outcast (exiled for an accidental murder), a mortal, and is described by many characters as plain or underwhelming. Another awesome factor is the limited homophobia in this version of ancient Greece. That could be partly due to Achilles status, but it is nice to think that homophobia is a new concept brought forth by Christianity (or other religions, I'm not well versed in any religion), instead of a long existing way of life. Even with all the contempt Thetis has for Patroclus, I get the vibe it is mostly due to inadequacies she sees with Patroclus, and not the sole fact he is male.

In conclusion, this is a wonderfully written book with immersive language that transports you to ancient Greece among Gods and Heroes. The numerous kings and palaces and place names can get a little confusing but Patroclus and Achilles love story outshines all other characters. I feel this story reaches the full potential the Greek mythology has, turning it into a wonderful work of fiction with deep characters we can care about. I highly recommend this book for anyone with an interest in Greek mythology. To the best of my knowledge it has all the basic 'facts' correct however it could be irksome to someone who might want to nit-pick changed details.

TL:DR

Set in Ancient Greece we follow the life of Achilles through the eyes of plain Patroclus, also Achilles lover (and husband, or so Achilles claims). They share a beautiful love story, doomed by Achilles destiny to be famous at war.