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A review by courtneydoss
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
5.0
Madeline Miller's debut novel, The Song of Achilles is an epic retelling of the life and love of famed Trojan War hero Achilles, told through the eyes of his true love, Patroclus. Beginning with Patroclus' exile from his homeland after an accidental murder, the book follows the two boys from childhood, through the initial years of the Trojan War, and up to the point of their deaths. Although set against the backdrop of one of the most famous wars in history, the focus of this novel is on the emotional relationship between the two main characters, and how the myths in which they both play a part came to be.
As a fan of Greek mythology, and of Madeline Miller's second book, Circe, I knew that I would like this book. However, I expected that my reaction would fall in with the majority of readers, in the sense that I would prefer Miller's sophomore novel to this one. That was not the case. I found The Song of Achilles to be a deeply moving, wonderfully romantic story. Often times, in the modern era, the story of these two characters has been changed to indicate a heterosexual leaning on the part of Achilles. Despite the fact that it was relatively common for soldiers to form sexual relationships with one another in Ancient Greece, that particular thing has been taken out of many modern day retellings. Miller, on the other hand, leans into that part of Greek culture, and doubles down on it. In this retelling, Achilles is not some womanizing super soldier who happens to fall in love with a man. He is instead a demigod and a gay man, desperately in love with Patroclus.
Achilles is an interesting literary character, a Book of Virtues style fable against hubris. It is, after all, his desperation for fame and his incredible pride that results in the worst events of his life. As the child of a god, he is overloaded with power and support from the divine, told again and again that he is destined for godhood. He believes, entirely, that that is what he wants, and that more than that, it is what he deserves. As the greatest fighter of all time, he feels that the respect and thanks of his fellow men is the least that they can give him. This is his fatal flaw.
Patroclus, mythologically speaking, is not a well formed character. His relationship to Achilles is pretty much the only thing that anybody knows about him, and I felt that Madeline Miller's debut novel didn't add very much to this foundation. Patroclus, although the narrator of the novel, is hardly the main character. He is the more moral half of their relationship, woefully average and averse to fighting, as well as being desperately infatuated with his lover. Who he is, separate of Achilles, is not well written. In my opinion, the novel would have been all that much better if Miller had taken the skeleton provided in mythology and really fleshed it out to make Patroclus his own person rather than Achilles' faithful boyfriend. Other than that, though, I felt like Miller did a good job of bringing this story to life.
Other than this and Circe, Madeline Miller hasn't written any other novels. However, she is still early in her career. My fingers are crossed in eager hopes that she will write more of her Greek myth inspired fiction, because it will be on my auto-buy list!
As a fan of Greek mythology, and of Madeline Miller's second book, Circe, I knew that I would like this book. However, I expected that my reaction would fall in with the majority of readers, in the sense that I would prefer Miller's sophomore novel to this one. That was not the case. I found The Song of Achilles to be a deeply moving, wonderfully romantic story. Often times, in the modern era, the story of these two characters has been changed to indicate a heterosexual leaning on the part of Achilles. Despite the fact that it was relatively common for soldiers to form sexual relationships with one another in Ancient Greece, that particular thing has been taken out of many modern day retellings. Miller, on the other hand, leans into that part of Greek culture, and doubles down on it. In this retelling, Achilles is not some womanizing super soldier who happens to fall in love with a man. He is instead a demigod and a gay man, desperately in love with Patroclus.
Achilles is an interesting literary character, a Book of Virtues style fable against hubris. It is, after all, his desperation for fame and his incredible pride that results in the worst events of his life. As the child of a god, he is overloaded with power and support from the divine, told again and again that he is destined for godhood. He believes, entirely, that that is what he wants, and that more than that, it is what he deserves. As the greatest fighter of all time, he feels that the respect and thanks of his fellow men is the least that they can give him. This is his fatal flaw.
Patroclus, mythologically speaking, is not a well formed character. His relationship to Achilles is pretty much the only thing that anybody knows about him, and I felt that Madeline Miller's debut novel didn't add very much to this foundation. Patroclus, although the narrator of the novel, is hardly the main character. He is the more moral half of their relationship, woefully average and averse to fighting, as well as being desperately infatuated with his lover. Who he is, separate of Achilles, is not well written. In my opinion, the novel would have been all that much better if Miller had taken the skeleton provided in mythology and really fleshed it out to make Patroclus his own person rather than Achilles' faithful boyfriend. Other than that, though, I felt like Miller did a good job of bringing this story to life.
Other than this and Circe, Madeline Miller hasn't written any other novels. However, she is still early in her career. My fingers are crossed in eager hopes that she will write more of her Greek myth inspired fiction, because it will be on my auto-buy list!