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The Song of Achilles 9781408842126 Books

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The Song of Achilles 9781408842126 Books

I read the Iliad in college and loved it, but when I went back to re-read it years later, I found it unreadable; among other things, all the recitations of death (kind of the inverse of all the "begats" in the bible) got in the way of what should be a very good story. I may try it again someday, perhaps in a different translation, but now that I've read this wonderful book I'm not sure I want to - or need to. This is a brilliant work; Ms. Miller's prose is crisp and simple yet evocative and poetic, and I loved every word. Her characters are alive and believable and the story line is smooth and real as well. This is one of those books that I wish had gone on a bit longer; perhaps Ms. Miller should tell and re-tell this classic tale from the perspectives of all the great characters.


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The Song of Achilles 9781408842126 Books Reviews

I have never read the Iliad, and I thought it might be fun to delve into a modern treatment of the story. This book had so many great reviews that it seemed worth buying. However, I stopped reading the novel when I was about 30% of the way through. By this time it became clear that the author was going to make the romance between Patroclus and Achilles the centerpiece of the book. For instance as teens, Achilles and Patroclus spend two or three years in the wilderness with a centaur who is supposed to be instructing Achilles in the art of war... except he doesn't. Patroclus is not supposed to be in the wilderness with them, but he tags along anyway. This means that Patroclus himself has the opportunity to learn the art of war from this great centaur who taught Heracles how to fight, but Patroclus doesn't either. It appears that the only reason these two were with centaur in the wilderness for a couple years was to allow the author to crate a bucolic love nest for the boys. And for unexplained reasons, Achilles' mother, Thetis, seems to have always hated Patroclus. Again from a Romance-novel point-of-view, her intense animosity seems to exist only to create a "forbidden love" situation between Patroclus and Achilles. It all seemed so contrived.
For better or for worse, the Homeric epics are a bedrock part of the Western literary canon. Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles looks at The Iliad from a fresh perspective that of Patroclus, Achilles' closest companion. Since this is a retelling of a classic story (a genre to which I am predisposed), we already know how it's going to play out Agamemnon will steal a slave girl claimed by Achilles, leading to the hero refusing to fight for the Greeks, leading to Patroclus donning his armor and being slain by Hector of Troy, leading to Achilles killing Hector and dragging him around the walls of his city, only to be killed himself by an arrow from Hector's brother Paris. What's different is what comes before and between.

As most of us know, it was not uncommon in Ancient Greek life for older men to have sexual relationships with younger men. Homosexual relationships between men of the same age, however, were rarer. When I was taught The Iliad, even in college, the bond between Patroclus and Achilles was usually described as just a deep friendship (lip service was paid to the idea they could have been lovers but it was never taught as being the more persuasive interpretation). Miller's novel, however, roots itself in the alternate interpretation she presents us with Achilles, the most gifted warrior in Greece, as a man in a loving and stable lifelong relationship with Patroclus.

It would actually be more accurate to say she presents us with Patroclus as the romantic partner of Achilles the story belongs to Patroclus, it is told through his eyes. Patroclus as created by Miller is a gentle soul, a disappointment to his aggressive father, who is banished when he kills another child purely by accident. He is sent to Peleus, father of Achilles, to be fostered, and is chosen by Achilles of all the young men at court to be his companion. Their relationship only gradually becomes romantic, much to the disgust of Achilles' river goddess mother, Thetis. She conspires more than once to break the couple apart, but their love is too strong and they remain together until the end. Miller explains Achilles' rage over the theft of his slave girl as being not about being deprived of a lover, but as being disrespected as the greatest soldier in the army by having his rightfully-claimed prize taken away.

I found it a much more enjoyable take on the story than the original. Miller really gets the time to develop Patroclus and Achilles as characters in depicting them from boyhood all the way through adulthood. She paints a very devoted relationship between them though both briefly experiment with sex with women, they never stray from each other and Achilles refuses to leave Patroclus despite strong maternal pressure to do so. Since Miller's Patroclus isn't a skilled or enthusiastic warrior and instead serves the Greek contingent at Troy as a healer, most of the battlefield scenes that I find so boring to read are left out entirely. This is a solid read for fans of historical fiction and/or classical retellings.
Starting this book I was at a strong 3.5 stars, then it bumped up to 4, and then the end had me in such a mess that it suddenly became 5. A miracle this is.

The story and plot revolves around the Trojan war and the moments before and after where Patroclus meets Achilles and laters waits for him. The flow is actually quite gentle, even during the war fighting. I had expected more action and heart racing moments, and that is maybe why I did not rush into a higher rating.

However, even though I had a feeling of who and the knowledge of death, I was still struck hard. It did not come on suddenly, no. It crept slowly, clung to my heart and then watered in my eyes. It was the reaction to death that got me.

The end is beautiful and sweet. It brings together the readers and the characters who are in pain and comforts us and makes us allies.

The writing is also wonderful. It's poetic and lovely at times. Of course if you do not like things being compared to unrelated things, such as the plumpness of lips to that of a bee, then you will disagree with me here. Regardless, this is the writing style I most adore in moderation and thus have loved this book.
I read the Iliad in college and loved it, but when I went back to re-read it years later, I found it unreadable; among other things, all the recitations of death (kind of the inverse of all the "begats" in the bible) got in the way of what should be a very good story. I may try it again someday, perhaps in a different translation, but now that I've read this wonderful book I'm not sure I want to - or need to. This is a brilliant work; Ms. Miller's prose is crisp and simple yet evocative and poetic, and I loved every word. Her characters are alive and believable and the story line is smooth and real as well. This is one of those books that I wish had gone on a bit longer; perhaps Ms. Miller should tell and re-tell this classic tale from the perspectives of all the great characters.