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saintmare 's review for:
The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Listened to the audiobook.
I think this book is nearly perfect. It's clear a lot of research went into this book and the tone matches the fact it's a Greek retelling. At some points I thought some descriptions were a bit too repetitive, though it matched with the tone of the book. I think the scope was well chosen and executed. The prose was lovely, at points drawing from the descriptions in epics.
In some way, this book is limited by the fact it's a retelling. You cannot divorce Achilles and Patroclus from their roots, from the violence of their origins and by portraying them as more sympathetic than they sometimes are in their original stories to focus on their bond, a choice is made. It's perfect for this book, but it's a limitation, one I can't describe it better without talking in circles.
I recommend this book nonetheless. It did make me cry.
I think this book is nearly perfect. It's clear a lot of research went into this book and the tone matches the fact it's a Greek retelling. At some points I thought some descriptions were a bit too repetitive, though it matched with the tone of the book. I think the scope was well chosen and executed. The prose was lovely, at points drawing from the descriptions in epics.
In some way, this book is limited by the fact it's a retelling. You cannot divorce Achilles and Patroclus from their roots, from the violence of their origins and by portraying them as more sympathetic than they sometimes are in their original stories to focus on their bond, a choice is made. It's perfect for this book, but it's a limitation, one I can't describe it better without talking in circles.
I recommend this book nonetheless. It did make me cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, War
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery
Minor: Ableism, Fatphobia, Transphobia
By transphobia, I mean specifically transmisogyny. At one point Achilles hides dressed as a girl himself. TL;DR, the other heroes mention that one of the greatest blemishes on a man's honour is be to be a man pursuing femininity, which is also leveraged against him later. This, of course, reflects the misogyny in the society but the way it was worded did make my skin crawl personally. Achilles and Patroclus himself aren't weird about this, though.