Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

854 reviews

kileyjojo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

This book is well written, characters are lovable, and the story just kept getting better. The story in one POV and the narrator is very lovable. You fall in love with Achilles through his eyes and you see their relationship develop in such a well paced narrative. This book is not fully focused on the romance. It is a driver in the story, but it isn’t the main focus. You grow with the characters on their journeys. If you know some of the Greek Gods and Goddesses, you might be able to guess some of the plot but it doesn’t fit just as a retelling. I really recommend this book if Greek mythology and the story of Achilles interests you. I will definitely be picking up more by this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Violence, and War

Moderate: Sexual assault, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Rape, and Homophobia

gin_and_panic's review against another edition

adventurous sad slow-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Violence, and War

Moderate: Slavery, Sexual assault, Rape, Blood, and Gore

Minor: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Self harm

joonjxne's review against another edition

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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse

Minor: Rape

jodean's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I will remember Achilles and Patroclus and their love. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Self harm, Violence, Murder, War, Trafficking, Sexual content, Homophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Blood, Grief, Gore, and Alcohol

Moderate: Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Transphobia, Slavery, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Animal death

hannaconda_02's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful sad medium-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and War

daniellekat's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Re-read review: I thought I would like this less on a second read but I think I actually like it more. I had originally thought the pacing was weird but now I see how well it fits with the story. The writing is absolutely outstanding. I love the way Miller writes Achilles' grief. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Violence, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Blood

Minor: Sexual content and Sexual assault

anmane's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Torture, Trafficking, and War

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Pregnancy

graffitithesky's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

Through the first half of this book, I was thinking, "This book will probably be a 4 or a 4.5 rating for me, it's good but there are a couple parts that are putting me off/triggering (

Deidameia with Patroclus, the descriptions of Peleus taking Thetis

)". But I finished the book and as you can see, it earned its 5 from me. Throughout the book, the storytelling of this well-known and oft-rewritten myth was done spectacularly well. As someone who knows both Homeric epics well, I could truly appreciate the foreshadowing Miller used throughout the novel (and dear god did I want to bawl just at the foreshadowing). The characters were given new life and personalities that made me feel even more attached to them, and it allowed the tragedy I knew was coming to hit me square in the jaw.

The depictions of Achilles' grief were poignant and devastating, the despair of Patroclus watching his philtatos suffer his death and unable to join him in death was heartwrenching.

Overall, this novel was fantastic, and I absolutely loved it. Now I'm going to go ice my eyes because they're still puffy after sobbing for an hour over this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Grief, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, and War

Minor: Infidelity, Animal death, Pregnancy, and Suicidal thoughts

janchamp's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Grief, Sexual content, Murder, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, Death, Gore, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts

meganm1587's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad medium-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Murder, Violence, Grief, Rape, Animal death, Gore, Blood, and Self harm