Scan barcode
A review by zoemain
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
I’d like to premise my review by saying that I read this book because my friend recommended it to me, not because it appealed to me. If you’re interested in the setting (Greek Heroic Age) and Greek lore it’s likely you’ll enjoy this a lot more than I did.
I didn’t like this book mainly because an insane amount of characters are introduced. I think there’s genuinely about 60 named characters. It’s simply impossible to keep track of who’s who and it makes for a really difficult read. It’s not like I cared what the characters names were anyway, because every character was unlikeable except for Briseis. She was the only person apart from Patroclus that didn’t have an insufferable ego, and Patroclus held himself in such low regard it was annoying.
I didn’t like Patroclus as the protagonist at all. He had no actual input in the plot until the end which lead to him being a side-character is his own story. He was so inactive that I didn’t feel as though I had a grasp on his personality until halfway through the novel during the battle of Troy.
This book would have been better from Achilles’ perspective, even though Achilles was blatantly heartless.
There’s also a few specific things I’d like to critique, including the constant mentions of Achilles’ “pink soles” (it’s weird) and Patroclus randomly hooking up with Deidamia. Why did this happen and why was it never brought up again? Also, the romance between Patroclus and Achilles is almost completely forgotten in the second half of the novel. When the boys did interact it was brief and Patroclus was internally chastising Achilles. Then at the end of the novel when it suits the plot they’re very abruptly completely in love again.
The second half of the book when the war finally began was fine but the first half was torturous. I was so close to putting the book down due to the reasons mentioned above. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who isn’t quite interested in the Greek lore and Greek Heroic Age setting.
I didn’t like this book mainly because an insane amount of characters are introduced. I think there’s genuinely about 60 named characters. It’s simply impossible to keep track of who’s who and it makes for a really difficult read. It’s not like I cared what the characters names were anyway, because every character was unlikeable except for Briseis. She was the only person apart from Patroclus that didn’t have an insufferable ego, and Patroclus held himself in such low regard it was annoying.
I didn’t like Patroclus as the protagonist at all. He had no actual input in the plot until the end which lead to him being a side-character is his own story. He was so inactive that I didn’t feel as though I had a grasp on his personality until halfway through the novel during the battle of Troy.
This book would have been better from Achilles’ perspective, even though Achilles was blatantly heartless.
There’s also a few specific things I’d like to critique, including the constant mentions of Achilles’ “pink soles” (it’s weird) and Patroclus randomly hooking up with Deidamia. Why did this happen and why was it never brought up again? Also, the romance between Patroclus and Achilles is almost completely forgotten in the second half of the novel. When the boys did interact it was brief and Patroclus was internally chastising Achilles. Then at the end of the novel when it suits the plot they’re very abruptly completely in love again.
The second half of the book when the war finally began was fine but the first half was torturous. I was so close to putting the book down due to the reasons mentioned above. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who isn’t quite interested in the Greek lore and Greek Heroic Age setting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and War
Moderate: Trafficking, Sexual content, and Slavery