(Goodreads)
Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful-- irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.
They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.So I have to stop diving into books without having any idea what they're about. I mean, yes, at one point I had an idea what The Song of Achilles was about, after all, I had enough interest to add it to my never ending list of books to read...but I essentially went in blind, which seems to be a pattern of mine these days. Also, I want to be honest and say that I did take a break from reading this book for about two-three weeks in order to read Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah and Push by Sapphire; so please keep that in mind as you read this review.
With that said, I was about a hundred pages in when I stopped and thought, wait...is this...a romance? And my answer to that would have been in the summary if I had stopped to read it a second time. Yes! This is a romance and an incredibly poetic one at that. Madeline Miller did an incredible job at building up a romance between Patroclus and Achilles, the pacing was just right. It was unexpected for me, as I read through pages and pages of blossoming friendship and brotherhood that slowly and steadily grew into something more.
Since the title is The Song of Achilles, I expected it to mostly follow Achilles's story. However, Miller did a great job in building up two characters exclusively from Patroclus' point of view. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did given my history with Greek mythology (long story short, I was a Classics minor for about two semesters, headaches and tears included). The only thing I didn't enjoy about this book were the fight scenes, which I tried to follow at first and then became a blur.
Achilles and Patroclus induced a lot of fluttering moments in my heart along with with a couple of painful stabs. I will definitely reread this in the future.
Memorable Quote (*MAJOR SPOILERS*)
Highlight to see:
"He snatches for this sword to slash his throat. It is only when his hand comes up empty that he remembers: he gave the sword to me. Then Antilochus is seizing his wrists, and the men are all talking. All he can see is the bloodstained cloth. With a roar he throws Antilochus from him, knocks down Menelaus. He falls on the body. The knowledge rushes up in him, choking off breath. A scream comes, tearing its way out. And then another, and another. He seizes his hair in his hands and yanks it from his head. Golden strands fall onto the bloody corpse. Patroclus, he says, Patroclus. Patroclus. Over and over until it is sound only [...] He holds me so tightly I can feel the faint beat of his chest, like wings of a moth. An echo, the last bit of spirit still tethered to my body. A torment." (336-337)
.5
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