Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes. (link)

Review: 4/5

This book was really, really, really hyped up. I would even say that it lives up to the hype. However, if you are a Greek mythology fanatic and don’t want retelling to deviate from the story’s and character’s true origins, I would not partake in this story.

As a queer woman in an accepting generation, I have always been very intrigued by the sexual fluidity of ancient Greek and Roman mythology. When I was in middle school, the first book series that I ever got really obsessed with (that made me fall in love with reading) was Percy Jackson (Shocker!) Who am I to deviate from my own origins? Sure, I’ll pick up another mythology based book! I’ve already read multiple: fiction and nonfiction. Disclaimer, I haven’t read the Iliad.

I think as someone who has not read the Iliad, this was a great story… I was about to say great and fun story, but I really can’t say “fun”. This book was heartbreak after heartbreak, yet addicting, and not easy to put down. I couldn’t help but root for the lovers who can’t seem to catch a break (am I self-projecting?)

I’m also known to struggle with mental health, and I was warned by three different friends not to read this book when I was in a depressive episode. Shout out to Courtney, because when she saw that this was on my currently reading tab on Goodreads, she immediately texted me and said “do not read this if you’re not doing well” Kudos to her for being so in touch! Kudos to me for not letting books impact my mental health in that kind of way. IT’S FICTION. IT’S NOT REAL.

I will preface (halfway through this review) that this book is extremely sad. There are no ups, there are only downs. I could NOT put this book down. I was enthralled the whole time, knowing something awful would happen. And something awful did happen, in most of the chapters. This is a strong heartstring-puller, and it was deeply devastating to my soul.

The romance between Achilles and Patroclus was devastating, especially when you get to the part about Achilles fathering a child, and Patroclus rejecting the only person he could have lived with. I think I really adored this book because it felt like how I have felt in love in a more dramatic way; hopeless, there’s no way out. You feel as though everything is pitted against you, and that it won’t ever work out with the person that you are so in love with. And it probably won’t. What are the chances that it does? Am I one to tempt fate? That’s exactly what Patroclus was always asking: who was he to tempt fate, and the Gods? One of my favorite things about mythology is the use of fate, and what was I made for? I’m a spiritualist, so I ponder this often. This book did a great job illustrating that theme in my eyes.

Think: gay guys who are destined to fail. Gay mythology. Gay trauma. Gay music. Troye Sivan! Other gay music. Prep your ears for gay heartbreak.

Spotify: LINK