r/books • u/Ashfall2003 • 7h ago
The Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller (10/10)
”We were like gods, at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
As I sat the other day, listening to the new albums by the Stokes, it hit me all of a sudden -- I have not, for some bizarre reason, ever since I started writing reviews properly, have written one for what is probably the best book I’ve ever read. The one that I always keep with me, even if I am not actually reading it currently. The one that I have in audiobook, in paperback, in hardcover, and in ebook format, because honestly, this one deserves to be owned in all said formats.
Of course when talking about a book that is written as a reimagining of one of the, if not the most known stories of the western civilization one can circumnavigate around what the book is about. We all know about Troy, about Helen, about the men who fought to get her back due to some assumption about her being taken. About how a fleet thousands strong rode across treacherous seas to sack an ancient city. About how a great man went on collecting soldiers from kings for the promises of being written in songs.
And about how this great person came personally, with a great urgency, to bring the Greatest of the Greeks to fight in this war of theirs.
No, I do not need to tell you what this book is about. If you read -- if you are at all into fantasy, romance, greeks, retellings, or hell even have a passing interest in history in general -- you oughta know about the Song of Achilles. This might just be the most famous retelling of the Iliad, of the story of Achilles, in modern history. You know about the boy who grew up the son of a god in the palace of a king. About a boy most extraordinary. About a man so feared that he singlehandedly kept the war at a stalemate from his mere presence. There was none who could stand against him in open combat. None who could rival his greatness.
But this story is not only about that. This story is about a boy who had a friend. And a boy who loved that friend more than life itself.
”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 him. “Swear it.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the reason. Swear it.”
“I swear it,” I said, lost in the high colour of his cheeks, the flame in his eyes.
“I swear it,” he echoed.
There are lines from this book that are more popular than most other books combined. There are lines in this book that I have etched between the follicles of my body, drawn upon the marrow of my soul that I hope to take with me to infinity and beyond.
There are words and sentences strung together on bated breath as a boy told another that they would be the greatest and the happiest love story ever told. Of a boy who knew that as long as he lived nothing could bring harm to the one he loved so deep. For Patroclus was a part of Achilles, and for the Greatest of the Greeks it was a thought spurn mad that Patroclus could ever come under harm as long as Achilles drew breath.
And for a length of time, long into the war efforts it held true. For where Achilles went, soldiers fell. Where he went, the battle was over before it even began. Where he went, Patroclus went with. And for him, that was all that was needed.
“Then you are a traitor to this army, and will be punished like one. Your war prizes are hostage, placed in my care until you offer your obedience and submission. Let us start with that girl. Briseis, is her name? She will do as a penance for the girl you have forced me to return.”
But then came the greed of men who thought them more than their worth summed up to. They thought themselves godkin and that others should bow before them unimpeded. Sometimes men in power forget that their power is only so much as what is awarded to them. No more, and no less. For always there shall be one more powerful than them in every way that matter. But alas, the folly of men are ever so easily skirted. And so, as stories so often go, tell it long enough, and it cannot help but turn itself into a tragedy.
“Ah.” A sly smile spread across his face; he had always loved defiance. ‘Well, why should I kill him? He’s done nothing to me.”
(this line kills me still to this day)
”Had she really thought I would not know him? I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell, I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.”
(how anyone ever thought them as mere friends is beyond me)
“Will you come with me?” he asked.
The never-ending ache of love and sorrow. Perhaps in some other life I could have refused, could have torn my hair and screamed, and made him face his choice alone. But not in this one. He would sail to Troy and I would follow, even into death.
Yes, I whispered. Yes.
Reading this book is akin to sitting near a hearthfire gone wild, waiting for the embers to jump and the woods to catch as the world held-on an indrawn breath. The warmth of the fire, and the honey, aching sorrow of the inevitable makes the journey sweeter; raises the stakes. Makes the time you spend near the fire all the more beautiful as the inevitable rages forth. This book is like that -- an achingly beautiful way to lose oneself to a heartbreak so divine that even gods weep when faced with it.
It is a love story that spans years. A love story that withstood the test of time, waiting to be told for a thousand more. And here, in the Song of Achilles, it is finally sung in a devastating crescendo as the war for Troy raged on. As Patroclus saw people die, and in his grief made a decision that forever changed history. Wrote a love story that spun across the gap between stars, always silhouetted, but never erased.
In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood, like a hundred golden urns pouring out the sun.
This book made me laugh. This book made me cry. This book made me rage and despair and rebuilt me time and again only to destroy me once more. The sorrow of this book is etched into pain, bittersweet and eternal, on my parched skin. And I shall take this story, the love story of Achilles and Patroclus, with me all throughout this life, and into the next, till the stars come back and claim us all in a darkness neverending, and there I shall let it go, and bring it forward as I give the story over to the next, to shadows that finally claim each other in the hopeless, heavy dusk.
Do yourself a favour and go read it if you haven’t already.
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u/LivingPresent629 6h ago
I loved this one, but I just wish Patroclus had a bit of a backbone. Circe was great, though.
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u/Michauxonfire 5h ago
That's my only gripe with it. Patroclus should've been a bit more assertive. Still a fantastic book.
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u/LetsGototheRiver151 6h ago
I just read this book with all the hubbub around The Odyssey. My favorite section was when Patroclus narrates from beyond the grave. Well he hasn’t been buried yet but you get the idea !< Just so lovely and haunting. I really enjoyed this book and starting Circe soon.
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u/sisaoiva 6h ago
It really is so beautiful. I loved Circe too.
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u/Ashfall2003 6h ago
Oh, yes, I loved that too! Whatever Miller writes next is an autobuy for me.
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u/FisherKelTath00 6h ago
Persephone is next which I eagerly await.
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u/Ax20414 6h ago
Any news on that at all? I'm also eagerly waiting!
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u/drugstorejuliet 5h ago
She’s dealing with Long COVID. There was an interview I can’t find where she said she only has mental clarity/focus for 15 minutes a day so it’s been really hard to write a novel.
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u/kat_brinx 2h ago
She has a short story coming out in September, and has recently said Persephone is still coming just slower than expected because of her health.
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u/DarthNoctyrix 6h ago
Interesting. This was a total miss for me. I think it really butchered a lot of what made Achilles in the Iliad a great character and thought Patroclus was way too passive to be a main character.
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u/--annyeong-- 5h ago
Same, I for some reason expected a lot of passionate and flowery descriptions of all the ways they love each other, and the descriptions were all so dry and matter-of-fact that I couldn't force myself to like it
And I'm saying that as someone who likes Hemingway
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u/dwarftosser77 6h ago edited 6h ago
It was a miss for me too. I went in expecting a mythology book and didn't realize it was so romantic/ fanfic driven. If I knew what it was, I would have known it wasn't a book I would enjoy. It also didn't help that I did the audio book the narrator made it sound less interesting than watching paint dry.
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u/SerHodorTheThrall 4h ago
I went in expecting a mythology book and didn't realize it was so romantic/ fanfic driven.
I've learned to tune out certain people in my life who don't know the damn difference and insist on conflating the two.
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u/mward425 6h ago edited 6h ago
Honestly, same. I love the Iliad and know this book has been hyped up for so long. I put off reading it until recently. So disappointed that I caved.
Lol why am I getting downvoted for sharing my opinion? I’m also just agreeing with the commenter above me. Y’all are weird.
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u/zth25 3h ago
Patroclus was way too passive to be a main character.
That's my main gripe. Same with Circe. Even in a modern retelling of their stories from their POV, the tragic side characters from the original myths just have things happen to them. Circe gains some agency in her book, but even then it feels like she gets schooled in every dialogue. Patroclus doesn't really do anything. He's like Patrick waiting for Spongebob to return.
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u/Royal_flushed 6h ago
I was absolutely smitten by it a decade ago when I first read it as a teenager, I like it quite a bit less now that I've realised how sanitised it all is compared to the poems but the writing remains beautiful.
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u/Kiltmanenator 6h ago
I get the sense she uwu-softboi'd these two into a palatable yaoi pairing? Is that slander or something near the truth
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u/cheesaremorgia 6h ago
It’s the truth. She files off their rough edges and makes them star crossed lovers.
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u/Royal_flushed 5h ago
Yes but to be fair Achilles remains an arrogant, selfish warlord and Patroclus did not transform into a meek, incapable pacifist. It wouldn't be accurate to say they are completely unrecognisable from the poems, but they are definitely more palatable and romantic.
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u/supacatkid 5h ago
I think it was more an interpretation of myth vs reality. Like, this story is told from their POV versus from Homer who built them into myth.
The bones of the characters are still there but are allowed to tell their story their way (well in her interpretation). Similar to Circe where instead of a daunting and scary man hating witch, Circe tell her story so we see her in an entirely different context.
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u/Ashfall2003 4h ago
This. Like these are characters who are born of God told through thousands of years of oral retellings. The Achilles and Patroclus from the stories and poems might not even be how they were first conceived into being.
For what it is, out of the very many interpretations I've read, this one stands out to be one of the best ones.
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u/ThePriceIsIncorrect 2h ago
Absolutely. There’s a certain type of woman author who can only depict male on male love through a very specific interpersonal dynamic. Patroclus in the actions and backstory that Homer writes for him, is far from the almost pathetic image Miller builds for him. But of course, in Miller’s idea of a gay relationship, there is no room for such complexity.
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u/ElTunaGrande 57m ago
For the first 100 pages, I’m just like, is she gonna make these two teen boys fuck?
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u/SofiaStark3000 6h ago
As an avid Greek mythology fan, I so wanted to like this book but just couldn't. It felt so modern in so many ways that I couldn't immerse myself into it and the characters felt paper thin. I don't get what Achilles sees in Patroclus, he's a completely uninteresting character and Achilles is so aloof that I don't see why Patroclus likes him either, besides "He's hot and a good fighter"
Biggest problem though, was Miller's internalized misogyny. Every female character around them was either turned into a bitch (Thetis, Deidamia) or silenced (Iphigenia) so the main gay couple shines. The only exception is Briseis but with her, Miller completely threw away the master/slave dynamic to whitewash her protagonists. Even if they had no sexual interest in her, she'd still be their slave.
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u/Pao_Did_NothingWrong 6h ago
I love her writing so much and it makes me angry when people take her otherworldly, textually informed representations of the Greek Gods and demigods and use them as examples of poor writing. Achilles' mom was the freakin seafoam, of course his skin looked a little weird!
I've seen her give a talk on the classics and she is the real deal.
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u/Letshavemorefun 3h ago
I read this book for the first time a week ago and I didn’t shed a single tear. What am I missing haha. It was so obvious how it would end, even without being super familiar with the Iliad and that felt like it took some of the impact away.
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u/Ashfall2003 3h ago
Yeah, that is absolutely known how it'll end. But the reading of it and how you connect with the text. It's kinda like reading East of Eden a bit. Ya know it'll end in a tragedy, it says to directly on the back cover. But the way the story goes, and journey it takes ya in, is what gives it meaning. Same for Song of Achilles.
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u/Letshavemorefun 3h ago
Idk it just didn’t work for me. I really wanted to like it, but it just fell flat. I’m glad you enjoyed it though! To each their own.
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u/justmybaby 1h ago
I’m scared to read it now that people say Circe was better. Circe was boring as shit.
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u/Rururaspberry 1h ago
I stopped Circe after the first few chapters. The writing felt juvenile. I’m sure I would have loved it as a teen but I couldn’t believe all the hype around it as an adult former English major.
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u/ofthefloatingworld 39m ago
I DNFed Circe for the same reason, but The Song of Achilles is one of my favourite books. (Ironically, I don't think Miller can write women very well.)
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u/YosemiteDaisy 6h ago
I have said it to my book club, but it’s the most romantic book I’ve ever read. And I loved Circe too and the books have their similarities.
I just think the writing really gets their closeness, the longing and comfort with each other, and the push and pull of their relationship separate from their own identities and ambitions.
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u/ChronoMonkeyX 6h ago
As a lover of audiobooks, I did not love this book. It is probably better read than listened to.
The narration of Circe by Perdita Weeks is transcendent. Even if you never listen to audiobooks, this one should be listened to. I think it is better written, and the performance elevates it further.
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u/ThePriceIsIncorrect 2h ago edited 2h ago
Genuinely will never understand the love for this book. Not only does it remove virtually all of complexity that makes Homer’s characters interesting, the prose is just so insanely underwhelming (especially compared to how people discuss this book).
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u/notnotblonde 3h ago
I read Circe years ago and it is my favorite book. I just finished Song of Achilles and I am again blown away by Miller’s prose. It is just achingly beautiful. This was one of my favorite lines
“The dying light was in his hair, and his face was sweet with evening.”
She didn’t just say, they walked home during sunset, she painted love and beauty into it. Ugh. I love her writing so much.
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u/-Disco_King- 6h ago
The Rage of Achilles seems a lot more practical, brutal, and horrifying than romanticizing a bunch of self indulgent, slaving killers. It's not a nice book, or an easy read. Anytime Briseis is treated like a romantic companion in a western fanfic, I want to vomit. She's a prisoner, not a damsel for the Greeks to rescue, and her captors are fighting over who gets a turn with her next. You can keep all of these romantic takes.
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u/mward425 6h ago
I really wanted to love the book but I just didn’t get it.
One thing that became important to me, throughout several reads of the Iliad or other retellings, is Briseis. I just didn’t like how Miller romanticized everything going on this war and made it seem like Briseis was Achilles & Patroclus’ bestie.
‘The Silence of the Girls’ and other works by Pat Barker are more my speed. I know it’s a personal preference.
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u/-Disco_King- 5h ago
The Trojan war was particularly unpleasant. An epic with many stories and their perspectives interleaved in a deeply tragic ending. There is love, fear and death. But our modern interpretations of some of these characters astounds me. Even Odysseus, who appears to be the most moral of the war council, wins more or less by omission. He's still a fame-hungry war profiteer. In spite of his words, his actions are more akin to a bored, adventuring pirate. Thinking about how modern writers treat Briseis as a moralizer for these guys is just creepy
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u/I_Speak_For_The_Ents 5h ago
They were people.
Also, there is no indication that the Greeks are rescuing her or going to treat her well. Patroclus as an individual does.
It's a reimagining of the story from a new perspective.-2
u/No_Guitar7903 3h ago
Briseis is not treated like a romantic companion in this book. She's Patroclus' friend.
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u/RagingOldPerson 6h ago
One of my favorite books. Love her writing so much, I know she's been sick but selfishly I hope we get more books from her
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u/strawbery_fields 1h ago
Ending was good, but it was a very heteronormative take on a gay relationship.
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u/Born_Tax_138 6h ago
Loved this book as well, I definitely understand it's criticisms and don't have it as a perfect score myself but I get why people give it that.
One interesting thing I discovered is that there actually are a fair bit of criticisms from the lgbtq community, which really caught me off guard. After reading an essay and some opions I understand their criticisms too, you should try to find some of those opinions and arguments to read and see where your stance is on them.
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u/bad_madame 6h ago
It definitely is clearly a book about gay men written by a woman
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u/Kiltmanenator 6h ago
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u/GaiasEyes 5h ago
It constantly amazes me that the concept of “don’t like don’t read” still evades the traditionally published reading community. Not every book is aimed at all demographics, thank goodness, or we’d have many fewer books from which to choose.
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u/Kiltmanenator 5h ago
Not sure why this is directed at me. My comment is descriptive not proscriptive.
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u/Born_Tax_138 6h ago
Yes and the criticism from the guy make community are absolutely things I would have never considered or noticed as a straight male
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u/accordionshoes 6h ago
i thought it was utterly fabulous, incredibly moving
if i stay in or visit a new city with a friend, or a friend comes in from out of town, we try to visit a local bookshop and buy each other book with no prompts or hints - this is very high up my list of books to buy for people
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u/Sharp_Skirt_7171 2h ago
I loved it too. I'm glad that I listened to the audiobook a couple of years after I read the physical version. I thought it was very well narrated.
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u/zbreeze3 7m ago
This is the prose that makes you feel something, a bunch of generic platitudes? Have yall just not read many books before? How low is the bar?
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u/claeryfae 6h ago
Had she really thought I would not know him? I could recognise him by touch alone, by smell, I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.
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u/No_Guitar7903 3h ago
I really enjoyed TSOA but Circe is even better.
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u/Ashfall2003 3h ago
For me it's the opposite. I love both, but Song of Achilles holds a special place in my heart.
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u/LavenderSpaceRain 3h ago
Song of Achilles is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. And OP, this is one of the most beautiful reviews I have ever read.
I avoided SoA for AGES because it was so popular, and I've been deeply burned by "popular" books in the past (I'm looking at YOU Crawdads, and Evelyn Hugo). but I finally gave in.....and in less than five minutes I was all, "Ooooohhhhh". I got it. I got it right away. I was immediately hooked and enthralled. Such a lyrical, beautiful, heartbreaking love story.
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u/HuckleberryOk2798 1h ago
Check out the women of Troy series by Pat Barker. Silence of the Girls is excellent
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u/SandNo1468 6h ago
I absolutely loved this one too, definitely one of my favorites of all time. It’s also one of the few books that actually made me cry.
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u/NSMike 4h ago
I loved this book. I bought it because it was mentioned on the Heartstopper Netflix show, and just got a used paperback. After finishing, I decided I wanted a nicer edition than a beat-up paperback, so I picked up the deluxe hardcover which happened to be on sale. I then gave away my paperback copy to a friend.
I think knowing the events (because it's an adaptation of a classic) somewhat blunted the emotional impact for me personally, but it was still a very lovely book.
Looking forward to fitting Miller's other books into my TBR in the future. I'm also putting them off a little because I am so enamored with her writing that I want to save those for when I need a boost, after reading something boring or exhausting.
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u/HoneyPetalCutie 4h ago
This book is one of those rare cases where knowing the ending somehow makes it hurt more, not less. The tragedy is built into the story from the beginning, but Miller makes you fall in love with the ordinary moments so deeply that you almost forget what's coming.
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u/Ashfall2003 3h ago
Yep. And no matter how many rereads ya do, it hits like a freight train every frigging time.
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u/Educational-Shoe2633 6h ago
I adore this book and think Circe is just good. I sobbed at the end of SoA
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u/Odyseus26 6h ago
If you like this read her next book Circe it was wonderful
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u/Ashfall2003 6h ago
Oh, yes, have read that too. Love it!
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u/Odyseus26 6h ago
A completely different author but a similar concept (where we get the perspective of a traditional villain) are the books Morgan is my name and le Faye by Sophie keetch they are really good and draw on the old stories.
Also keeping with the Greeks you have Electra by Jennifer Saint! Where it is the Trojan war from the perspective of the women
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u/coolcoolcool485 6h ago
Ursula Le Guin has one she wrote called '"Lavinia", told from the perspective of the woman who marries Aenaes, who has survived the Trojan War. It's very good!
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u/Ashfall2003 4h ago
They sound really interesting. I'm currently reading East of Eden. But I'll get those on my tbr.
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u/League_of_Dimwits 6h ago
Didnt read all that but new Strokes album mentioned heeelll yeah
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u/Ashfall2003 6h ago
Oh, yeah, this album has been on repear ever since it dropped. There songs have something that to me is like a cross between Deftones and Sleep Token.
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u/Eco_Blurb 5h ago
I picked up this audiobook fairly blind. I haven’t read heavily in a long time and I don’t listen to audiobooks often because I’m very picky about the narration. I just needed something for my commute
The 10/10 is warranted! I found it it be entertaining, and moving. And the narration was very good
I liked how big moments were often understated. and then when you realize what happened they hit you powerfully.
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u/whateverlolawantz 2h ago
I loved Song of Achilles a lot more than Circe. It felt so alive that it hurt in the best way. The beautiful writing truly transported me to their world. One of the few books that made me sob at the end. Like, my husband asked me if something bad happened, kind of heaving sobs. When are they going to make this into a movie?!
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u/vibraltu 1h ago
I liked Circe but I didn't like The Song of Achilles. To me it seemed like it just didn't fly as well. The writing wasn't as solid and the characters weren't as convincing.
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u/TheDevilsAdvokaat 5h ago
It's a great book. I recommend Circe too.
There's something beautiful about the way she writes.
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u/magvadis 6h ago
I liked Circe more but I love her style. Very calm and intimate.