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Is the Song of Achilles Worth the Hype?

People seem to love this book but is it worth the hype?

By Rute BarrosPublished 2 years ago 5 min read
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Cover of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. Source: Time.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is, of course, the story of Achilles. It’s a retelling of the Trojan War from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles’ long-time friend and lover who grew up alongside him.

Achilles, son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him.

Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence.

Brought together by chance, they quickly became friends and that friendship quickly blooms into something a lot deeper. And it’s their relationship that drives this story forward. It is the main focus of the story.

It is said in the book that heroes cannot be heroes and be happy. But Achilles wants to be the exception.

The war not only tests Achilles’ skills, but it also tests his and Patroclus’ relationship and who they are as people.

I first heard of this book back in 2015, when a friend recommended it to me. To be honest, it never interested me before but after studying Greek mythology in college and reading books such as The Iliad and The Odyssey, I decided that 2022 would be the year I would read it.

So in January 2022, I finally read it and I have to say that I’m disappointed. I expected so much more from this book and by the end, I was just reading it to finish it.

I went into this book expecting a beautiful love story with everything I love about Greek mythology. It disappointed me when I finished reading it and not only was the famous death of Achilles different from what we all have been told (based on the ancient works) but also this beautiful love story was not that beautiful.

This is a very beloved historical fiction book. I went into it with extremely high expectations. As a whole, I would say I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t personally a new favorite for me.

I went into reading it wanting to give it 5 out of 5 stars and cry my eyes out. I wanted to be obsessed with it. And while I definitely would say it’s still worth checking out, especially if you are into Greek mythology, I wouldn’t say that it’s a new all-time favorite for me.

What I Liked About This Book

The strength of this book is the way it shows the impact of the war on the characters’ lives.

At the beginning of the story, when they start developing their feelings for each other we are presented with a very new and pure love, and instead of seeing this steadily grow, it completely shifts dynamics when they are both sent off to war.

When Achilles goes to war, we see him as a person caught between worlds. Caught between the world of the Gods, the epic world, the world of fates and warfare, kleos, and great deeds, and the war of his humanity and his human connections.

Patroclus represents his connection to the human and the humane. He becomes Achilles’ conscience, anchor, touchstone, and everything he’s standing from.

He has to witness Achilles turn into a completely different person, one he would not have become if he wasn’t leading an army.

He has to deal with watching Achilles do terrible things that completely contradict his personality while also juggling his feelings for him.

That said, I found it really interested — yet also heartbreaking — to see Patroclus watch Achilles turn into a completely different person from when they were younger.

I think this makes their love quite bittersweet, and the circumstances differentiate their relationship and growth from what the usual “chemistry” is portrayed as.

What I Didn’t Like About This Book

I think that the development of their relationship was a little weak.

Throughout the book, Patroclus quickly mentions bonding moments that they had, leaving the reader feeling left out for not actually being “present” or seeing those moments happen.

They’ve known each other since they were kids, but a lot of time Patroclus just mentions what they’ve done. He says “we played”, “we talked”, but he doesn’t always go into detail.

Because Madeline Miller writes in a similar style to that of Greek classics, with the similar use of language, and already existing classic characters, the characters in this book aren’t particularly nuanced and there isn’t too much complexity or emotional depth to them.

The short sentence structure, the time skips, and the uses of imagery, intentionally mimic the original texts to create a much greater impact with the retelling.

I personally love to see character complexity and personal motivation so this made it hard for me to get emotionally invested in these characters.

They all felt one-dimensional, and I felt like there was a lack of chemistry between Achilles and Patroclus. I didn’t hate them but I did feel very indifferent about them.

I wanted to feel invested in these characters and this story but I didn’t. I didn’t care at all. And maybe it’s because I knew the story already since I read The Iliad, but I think that it was the fact that I was expecting more.

And without spoiling too much, I have to say that I didn’t like that Achilles' death was different from what has been written in ancient texts.

It just doesn’t make sense to me. Because for me the heel part of Achilles’ story was so important, that the ending felt like a lie. As I was reading it, it felt like when someone lies to you and you know they’re lying.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I would say I enjoyed reading this book. I didn’t love it as much as I wanted to. Because this is such a beloved book, I wish I could say I gave it 5 out 5 stars but I would give it 3. I feel like it was a very interesting retelling of The Iliad and if it sounds interesting to you, I would highly recommend checking it out.

And I will for sure be checking out more books by this author because I’ve heard that she has written other amazing books, and I did love her writing.

I think that the hype for this book got my hopes really high, and that’s what ruined it for me.

And the last thing I have to say is that it’s not as emotional as people are saying it is.

But let me know in the comments if you’ve read this book and what did you think of it. Did you cry? Did you feel invested in the characters? Or did you struggle to finish it like me?

If you’re interested in reading this book, get it here.

*This article contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase any of the books through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.*

Follow my reading progress on Goodreads.

What books have you read recently? Let me know in the comments!

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About the Creator

Rute Barros

Bookworm & Dreamer. I write about books and everything else I find fascinating. 🇵🇹 🇮🇪 Get weekly book recommendations: tinyurl.com/bookishnewsletter

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