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A review by wthanyell
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“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."
Yes I know everyone uses that quote but it could not be helped.
This book had me hooked from very early on. There was something about the descriptive style of writing that held me; it was effortless to read and despite alot of adjectives being thrown in all the time it didn't halt the experience. I was in awe of how attached I was to the characters from the get-go, I was giddy with excitement over how they came to grow together. It did feel odd to have this sort of reaction over CHILDREN but eventually they were fully-fledged adults and I didn't feel so bad about it. The fact that I knew little to nothing about Greek mythology did not severely impact my experience. What I need to know is laid out for me. However, I think someone who did have previous knowledge of Greek mythology could potentially gain more from reading this text than I did.
I'm not sure why, but this book reminded me of my reading experience with The Wrath & The Dawn so much but I cannot pinpoint why.
The most interesting part of this reading experience was how much my perception of the characters changed throughout the novel, I did not think that I could feel differently toward any of them but was proven wrong in the end.
I would like to read more books of this style in the future, those that are based on Greek mythology as it is an interesting topic to me.
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 4/5
Yes I know everyone uses that quote but it could not be helped.
This book had me hooked from very early on. There was something about the descriptive style of writing that held me; it was effortless to read and despite alot of adjectives being thrown in all the time it didn't halt the experience. I was in awe of how attached I was to the characters from the get-go, I was giddy with excitement over how they came to grow together. It did feel odd to have this sort of reaction over CHILDREN but eventually they were fully-fledged adults and I didn't feel so bad about it. The fact that I knew little to nothing about Greek mythology did not severely impact my experience. What I need to know is laid out for me. However, I think someone who did have previous knowledge of Greek mythology could potentially gain more from reading this text than I did.
I'm not sure why, but this book reminded me of my reading experience with The Wrath & The Dawn so much but I cannot pinpoint why.
The most interesting part of this reading experience was how much my perception of the characters changed throughout the novel, I did not think that I could feel differently toward any of them but was proven wrong in the end.
I would like to read more books of this style in the future, those that are based on Greek mythology as it is an interesting topic to me.
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 4/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism, Child death, Homophobia, Incest, and Suicidal thoughts