Book Review
Title: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Genre: Retelling, LGBT, Romance
Rating: DNF
I have heard some polarizing things about Madeline Miller’s books not just The Song of Achilles but Circe as well as it seems that people either love them or hate them with little in between, so I’m excited to see where I fall. The opening didn’t really capture me, the story is narrated by Patroclus and it begins when he is a child being presented to marry Tyndareus’ daughter, Helen. He isn’t successful and afterwards he ends up killing a boy and is exiled to Phthia. Here he meets Achilles, son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, and isn’t does like him. However, after skipping his exercises, Achilles finds him to see if he is unwell. Patroclus isn’t unwell he just doesn’t see any point in trying when he isn’t like the other boys and asks Achilles to lie for him but he doesn’t like lying so he takes Patroclus to his lyre lesson so Patroclus being with him won’t be a lie. I wasn’t enjoying the book so far so I decided to give it to the ¼ mark and if I still aren’t enjoying it but then it will be a DNF for me.
As we approach for ¼ mark in the novel, we continue to follow Achilles and Patroclus as they become friends and Patroclus eventually becomes Achille’s companion. Over the months and years that follow they become close friends with Patroclus even becoming attracted to Achilles and acting on this. However, he has received many warnings from Achilles’ mother, Thetis that she wants Achilles to be a god and as a mortal Patroclus has no place in his life. Eventually, Achilles is sent away to train with the centaur Chiron and Patroclus can’t imagine being away from his side and follows Achilles. By the time we meet Chiron, he has already been asked by Thetis to turn Patroclus away if he is with Achilles and he decides not to do this. He begins training the boys in things like hunting, tracking and taking care of themselves in the wild lands but eventually they asked for weapons training. Achilles already surpasses everyone Chiron has taught and needs no instructions and Patroclus doesn’t want instruction in this but in the healing arts Chiron calls surgery instead.
Nothing has really happened during this time but the boys are now around 15 years old and well on their way to being seen as men but I still wasn’t enjoying the story. I think I’ll give it a little bit longer to make my decision but it still was gripping me.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Thetis has been paying regular visits to Achilles and Patroclus deems to wise to stay out of her way since she seems to really dislike him. By the time they turn 16 Patroclus and Achilles are now lovers and are summoned home by Achilles’ father but it was around this point that I decided to stop reading. I was over a quarter of the way through and I wasn’t invested in the story at all so it is a DNF from me.
Buy it here:
Paperback/Hardcover: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
Kindle Edition: amazon.co.uk amazon.com
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