The Song of Achilles: Book Review

• Author: Madeline Miller   
• First Published: 2011
• Genre: Mythology   
• Rating: ★★★☆

Son of the Gods, destined to be the greastest of the Greeks, radiant and handsome with his golden head of hair and lean muscles. We humbly present to you, Achilles. Swipe right!

I have a lot of mixed feelings with this novel I think for two reasons: it was over-hyped and the story-telling was lackluster. I've been a fan of mythology in general since I was quite young, and fell in love with the siege of Troy specifically when I was probably around 11 or so, so I've read my fair share of adaptations and reimaginings in that time. What I love about this one is that it does offer a different perspective of said siege, highlighting different characters and important figures for the time. What it lacks is captivation.

Let's start with our narrator, Patroclus - he should be renamed Boringclus. A very minor spoiler here, but when we start out, he is presented as someone who grew up in a very unhappy household and likely due to that has become a fairly quiet and reserved person. Yes, I'm all for that, as long as there is some character development and some breath of life in them and their story-telling - there wasn't. I don't know if the author intended it this way, but it was almost like Patroclus, who is narrating this whole tale, was in a depressed haze for his whole life and never really experienced emotion. Not once did I feel anything that he supposedly had; not joy nor sorrow, nor fear nor companionship. Nadda. That's a real shame too because my queer little heart was very excited about his relationship with Achilles, which because of how the narration was, left something to be desired.

I did like that the story took us through Patroclus' and Achilles' youth leading up to the siege, but the huge gaps in time left by the author felt awkward. You would spend two or three chapters at one age, then you'd jump ahead two, three years, sometimes more. Although the story did flow, it felt a little disjointed and I felt like there were some relationship and character developing elements missed in those times that could have potentially helped improve the story and the characters.

As for the hype, I get it, I really do. Having queer characters be in media not just as sidekicks and background characters but to be front and center and strong is exciting and long overdue, even if this story in particular is thousands of years old. To openly read about queer love and adoration, and to see devotion to one another makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I also find that when there is something that comes out about Greek mythology, and Troy especially, it gets a lot of hype. Remember Troy (2004) with Brad Pitt as Achilles? People went crazy for that movie. Same thing here. I would have been in the same boat too if the narration had more life to it and didn't feel so bland and dead. Still, I'm a sucker for stories about this time and about mythology, so I enjoyed it. 

What about you? Do you love mythology? What are some books you'd recommend about mythology? What did you think of The Song of Achilles?

Cheers!