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A review by jenkinel
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Such a beautiful, aching adaptation - I have so little interest in the huge recent trend for Greek myth retellings (I don't trust many authors to capture the richness of the original source material) but gave this one a go on several recommendations.
Miller's Patroclus is such an engaging narrator, with plenty of beatiful love-lorn imagery. I'm impressed by the author's ability to make Achilles sympathetic without being exactly likeable; his tragically bad decisions and insulted pride feel internally consistent in a way I hadn't grasped before in other retellings.
She also pulls off some literary magic by making the device of prophecy feel actually tense - the dramatic irony of lines like "what has Hector ever done to me?" hit hard.
Anyway I'm still very much #teamBriseis but it's nice to have a new appreciation of my least favourite Greek hero.
Miller's Patroclus is such an engaging narrator, with plenty of beatiful love-lorn imagery. I'm impressed by the author's ability to make Achilles sympathetic without being exactly likeable; his tragically bad decisions and insulted pride feel internally consistent in a way I hadn't grasped before in other retellings.
She also pulls off some literary magic by making the device of prophecy feel actually tense - the dramatic irony of lines like "what has Hector ever done to me?" hit hard.
Anyway I'm still very much #teamBriseis but it's nice to have a new appreciation of my least favourite Greek hero.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence