A review by danaaliyalevinson
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked it! But I wouldn’t say I loved it. The poeticism of the prose was often lovely The final few pages were gorgeous. I appreciated the reclamation of the Achilles and Patroclus relationship from queerphobic 19th century translators who didn't want to acknowledge the queer undertones of the Homeric narrative, nor the fact that in Ancient Greece, they were viewed as a couple. But something about the book felt very paint by numbers for me. It hit all the beats well enough. But sometimes I felt things happened because that's what happens in The Iliad/Odyssey, but Miller didn't quite find a way to carn it in her own right in this take on the story The relationship worked for me better in the pre Trojan War part of the book than during the war, but was generally perfectly adequate and sometimes beautiful. 
So, all in all, I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say I loved it.
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