The Song of Achilles discussion

4 Stars

The retelling of an ancient tale, and doing it well, is a challenging task. Madeline Miller accomplished this goal in spectacular fashion. Woven within her retelling of a classic tale are the basic story elements of the Iliad. Many familiar characters are present in this retelling: the Greek warriors Odysseus, Achilles, and Agamemnon; the Trojans Hector, Paris, and King Priam; and the gods and goddesses Athena, Apollo, and Thetis.

Within this framework Miller tells the story of two companions, Achilles and Patroclus, who become lovers and the terrible wrath of Achilles upon
Patroclus's untimely death on the battlefield. Staying true to the ancient tale while reinventing it with fresh details makes an enjoyable book and a must read.

But what about Achilleus and Hector fighting together if some third party attack them?

Help
I know their is a lot of controversy about American Dirt but i was recently roaming around a book store and would like to read immigrant stories that are true and well written. Can anyone recommend sone good choices and tell me why its good

I really liked Song if Achilles. I don’t know much about Greek mythology beyond Percy Jackson(don’t judge me, I’m only 13) so I don’t know how accurate it was, but I think it was really good. It also was very openly “Achilles was gay! He loved Patroclus! Romantically!” Which a lot of historians(from what I know) don’t really do.

A nice retelling of an age old tale. Different from some other tellings, yet much remains the same. Achilles loved Patroclus, and also being lovers is not completely out of context with Greek history. Overall, I think it was handled well. And since Patroclus was the protagonist, he goes from a side note to a character you feel you knew and understood. That's good storytelling.

I read this because of Circe and loved this book more. As others have mentioned, it is a great retelling of a classic and having it told in Patronus's point-of-view was clever.

I loved song of Achilles and read it so fast! It was just the perfect lgbt love story.

Danielle wrote: "I read this because of Circe and loved this book more. As others have mentioned, it is a great retelling of a classic and having it told in Patronus's point-of-view was clever."


I hadn't thought about how the POV helps elevate this book to excellence! I think I would definitely like it less if it were written from Achille's perspective; he isn't nearly as insightful as Patroclus, and he's privy to more of the supernatural stuff going on. From Patroclus's POV, deities and curses are more of a backdrop, because he truly only cares about the human connection :)