Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Song of Achilles

The book was well written in terms of language and pacing, but the subject matter - by this I mean the war, not the romance - was hard for me to stomach. The focus is on the male characters, as it is in the source material, and how women, children or indeed all humans are treated is not sugarcoated. Also, because of the subject matter, there is a lot of violence, gore and cruelty. I also hated Achilles as a character, which made the motivation of Patroclus' actions hard to understand. Will not read again.

Content Warnings

chrisljm's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Yeah I cried.

Madeline Miller is a beautiful writer and I did enjoy her retelling of this myth, but I didn't find it to be particularly remarkable.

I think the thing I found most puzzling was Patroclus' inclination towards saving women from being war trophies when this was very much a sociopolitical norm during this period in time. Of course that's not to say I wanted to see more scenes of women being brutalized or that it's impossible for there to be any person during this period to disagree with such practices, but I think when making the decision to have that be one of the main characters in this myth for the purpose of having a more likable protagonist, it becomes a story that lacks the social and cultural context of the historical myths by changing certain themes to fit modern sensibilities.

Content Warnings

_david_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What a beautiful retelling of Achilles and Patroclus. It is very humane and easy to read. I empathized with Patroclus. Something I would like to highlight is how poetic the moments of sex were written. In general the style of writing is accessible without being simple. It is easy to imagine the ancient greek beliefs as an active religion when the legends and characters are told like this.

The tale itself hurt to read. Especially the last part of the book made me want to read as slowly as possible to postpone the ending. Afterwards I grabbed my partner and hugged him as tight as I could.

Content Warnings

kjm19's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Amazing writing - vivid and evocative.

Love the realistic portrayal of how women are perceived in this world. I love that Patroclus grows in his opinions on women and people too. Contrasted with Achilles and his views because he can only be focused on himself.

I think maybe a bit of pacing inconsistencies at the start of the war… partly felt rushed and partly felt weeded out a bit.

More character distinction would’ve been good, but I’m being really picky now.

The last chapter is amazing. Many tears fell. Amazing book and fleshed out story of a classic myth.

I feel the 1984 pull to the book now. Beautiful and I loved it. I cried a lot in my final sitting of the read.

Content Warnings