A review by karlapardo
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oooof this book. It broke my heart into a million pieces. I did not expect this book to make me cry this much. I also was surprised with the fact that the book is written in Patroclus POV only, which I thought was beautifully thought out because readers can see Achilles the hero in a different way that we are not used to seeing. We see Achilles through Patroclus’ point of view and because of that we are able to see his flaws, and his not-so-hero struggles that make him seem human. The fact that we get to read this from the point of view of the man who loved and cherished this great hero is breathtaking. 
Madeline Miller’s reading is…… breathtakingly beautiful. I don’t know how else to describe it if I am being honest. The poetry is just so well done that it’s able to paint such detailed and vivid scenes and emotions in every aspect. The good moments are shown so beautifully with the poesy of the writing and as readers we feel the joy and excitement of each scene. But the bad moments are also so heartbreaking, heart wrenching, devastatingly, painfully so well written that readers are able to feel absolutely everything. It has truly been the best written book I have read this year and I would read it again and again without a doubt. I would go through the pain of it every single time because of the incredible, beautiful, painful love story of Achilles and Patroclus. 

Memorable Quotes 
  • “ACHILLES, it reads. And beside it, PATROCLUS. ‘Go’ she says. ‘He waits for you.’”
  • “I could recognize 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.”
  • “He smiled, and his face was like the sun.”
  • Achilles’ eyes lift. They are bloodshot and dead “I wish he had let you all die.”
  • Achilles weeps. He cradles me, and will not eat, nor speak a word other than my name.
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