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The Song of Achilles
by
Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasur
...more
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Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
September 20th 2011
by Bloomsbury Publishing
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Start your review of The Song of Achilles
Jun 21, 2018
Virginia Ronan ♥ Herondale ♥
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
historical-romance
”We were like gods, at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
This book!!!
Gosh I loved this book!!!
The moment I read the first page I was already certain of two things:
1.) This would become one of my all-time favourites and I’d gush about it like crazy.
2.) It wouldn’t only leave me devastated and heartbroken but also sobbing like a little child.
Well, both of those things came true, even way earlier than I had initially anticipated. I wa ...more
This book!!!
Gosh I loved this book!!!
The moment I read the first page I was already certain of two things:
1.) This would become one of my all-time favourites and I’d gush about it like crazy.
2.) It wouldn’t only leave me devastated and heartbroken but also sobbing like a little child.
Well, both of those things came true, even way earlier than I had initially anticipated. I wa ...more
Madeline Miller did what the movie producers of the film Troy (2004) were too cowardly to do; she stayed true to the homosexuality of Homer’s Iliad rather than writing a censored version of the story which stank of homophobia. Achilles and Patroclus were passionately in love, which resulted in their respective destructions. They were not cousins or man at arms, but soul mates. The watering down of this in the film Troy was an insult to the LGBT community. Nothing more. Nothing less.
The attract ...more
The attract ...more
A new take on the Iliad, written by a high school classics teacher -- how could I not read this? The Song of Achilles retells the story of Greece's greatest hero from the point of view of his best friend Patroclus. The big twist: Madeline Miller casts the story as a romance between Achilles and Patroclus. While staying true to Greek legends and the works of Homer, Miller creatively and convincingly fills in the blanks, giving Patroclus a back story that makes perfect sense, and tracing the frie
...more
I hereby award ALL THE STARS in the universe to The Song of Achilles. Equal parts charming and enchanting!
I knew nothing about it going in, besides the fact that it is based off events in Homer's, The Illiad.
Despite the fact that I took 4-years of Latin in high school, I couldn't tell you the first thing about The Illiad.
I was completely floored by the absolute beauty of this story, which centers around the love between Achilles and Patroclus.
Admittedly, I am not an avid romance reader. Oftent ...more
I knew nothing about it going in, besides the fact that it is based off events in Homer's, The Illiad.
Despite the fact that I took 4-years of Latin in high school, I couldn't tell you the first thing about The Illiad.
I was completely floored by the absolute beauty of this story, which centers around the love between Achilles and Patroclus.
Admittedly, I am not an avid romance reader. Oftent ...more
‘we were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.’
i must be a masochist because i can think of no other reason to endure the emotional and stunning pain of this story for a fourth time. but here i am. crying for my sweet, sweet patroclus. the best of men. the best of the myrmidons. <3
______________________________
its been nearly 12 hours since i finished this and i still am at a loss for words at the beauty of this book. i dont ...more
i must be a masochist because i can think of no other reason to endure the emotional and stunning pain of this story for a fourth time. but here i am. crying for my sweet, sweet patroclus. the best of men. the best of the myrmidons. <3
______________________________
its been nearly 12 hours since i finished this and i still am at a loss for words at the beauty of this book. i dont ...more
"Achilles. Who was he if not miraculous, and radiant? Who was he if not destined for fame?"
Reading this is like reading Romeo and Juliet. We all know the story. We all know the outcome. We all know that our desperate prayers for someone, anyone to step in and save these characters from themselves will fall on deaf ears.
Gods. What a bloody trainwreck. Even though I knew how it was going to end, I was not prepared for how much I cared.
This is the story of the fall of Troy. Or rather, a part o ...more
”He was a marvel, shaft after shaft flying from him, spears that he wrenched easily from broken bodies on the ground to toss at new targets. Again and again I saw his wrist twist, exposing its pale underside, those flute-like bones thrusting elegantly forward. My spear sagged forgotten to the ground as I watched. I could not even see the ugliness of the deaths anymore, the brains, the shattered bones that later I would wash from my skin and hair. All I saw was his beauty, his singing limbs, the
...more
yall remember tht part where it was like:
achilles: lol listen my mom can’t spy on us anymore 👅
patroclus: 👀
achilles: 👀
achilles: lol listen my mom can’t spy on us anymore 👅
patroclus: 👀
achilles: 👀
Epic.
Will I finish this book or will it finish me first? That is the question.
4.5/5 stars
Beautifully heartbreaking and tragic, Madelline Miller’s first novel burst with palpable emotions.
Countless amazing things have been raised and sang for the Miller’s craft on The Song of Achilles and Circe, and that speaks volumes on how ridiculous it is that it took me this long to finally get around to reading it. In truth, there was a hesitancy inside me; The Illiad, the stories of Achilles, Hector, and Odysseus are stories that I’ve read and heard about so many times before in sev ...more
Beautifully heartbreaking and tragic, Madelline Miller’s first novel burst with palpable emotions.
Countless amazing things have been raised and sang for the Miller’s craft on The Song of Achilles and Circe, and that speaks volumes on how ridiculous it is that it took me this long to finally get around to reading it. In truth, there was a hesitancy inside me; The Illiad, the stories of Achilles, Hector, and Odysseus are stories that I’ve read and heard about so many times before in sev ...more
ACHILLES, it reads. And beside it, PATROCLUS.
Can anyone please call my boss and let her know I may not go to work for a week or so? I need time to recover from this book that m u r d e r e d me.
No kidding, here. I think getting a Brazilian wax wouldn't have hurt this much.
I'm an ugly sobbing mess, running nose and hair pulling included.
Wow.
What a-wow! I have no words.
I can't remember the last time a book made me weep so much.
This is honestly the kind of book I prefer: zero dull ...more
patroclus: constantly gushing about achilles' outer and inner beauty, like 80% of the time
me: *remembering brad pitt's chiseled abs and legs in troy (2004)* same boi ...more
me: *remembering brad pitt's chiseled abs and legs in troy (2004)* same boi ...more
I think Patroclus was the only sane person there, Achilles acted way too childish, I hated Neoptolemus, Thetis was extremely annoying, and Agamemnon should have died sooner
Mar 26, 2018
lily ☁️
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to lily ☁️ by:
clara
Shelves:
historical,
lgbtqiap-rep,
fantasy,
romance,
to-reread,
tolino,
retelling,
diverse,
beautiful-prose,
best-romance
“When I die, bury my ashes with this book.”—every person who finished reading The Song of Achilles, ever.
Blog | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter ...more
“IN THE DARKNESS, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.”
Blog | Bloglovin’ | Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter ...more
the vibe of "i feel like i could eat the world raw" vs. "i will kill u & eat u raw"
but actually, the only thing that was eaten raw was my heart
rep: mlm couple ...more
but actually, the only thing that was eaten raw was my heart
rep: mlm couple ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Mar 07, 2017
✨ jamieson ✨
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
mythology,
owned-books,
romance,
historical-fiction,
lgbtqiap,
gay-mc,
retelling,
bi-mc,
tragedy
“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
way back I said there was a review of this beautiful book to come and I never did it. So now it's June and finally, finally I am ready to review this book.
deidamia: marry me ach-
achilles: in case you haven’t noticed, i’m gay. i’m gay as fuck. i don’t like girls and i don’t want to... like girls. have you ever seen me without patroclus standing right beside me? that’s gay
In a ...more
“Why would I kill Hector? What has Hector ever done to me?”
Fun Fact of the Day: I was in a Latin class my freshman year where the teacher mentioned how gay Achilles was every single sentence. She could not bring up these two without mentioning that they were believed to be in a romantic relationship. That's honestly at least half the reason I picked this book up, so thanks, Magistra Vasquez, for being so extra. Can't wait to have you again next year for AP Latin. Can probably wai ...more
Aug 23, 2012
K
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Recommended to K by:
Orange Prize and high goodreads rating
I am going to disagree with the Orange Prize committee. I am going to disagree with thousands of goodreads reviewers. This book is crap.
Okay, all you trolls. Go ahead and tell me what a philistine I am, how ignorant I am of Greek literature and mythology, and how my failure to appreciate this book reflects my limitations rather than those of the book. You don't really need to bother defending this book, because the masses seem to agree with you.
But if you ask me, this was a Harlequin. Boring Pa ...more
Okay, all you trolls. Go ahead and tell me what a philistine I am, how ignorant I am of Greek literature and mythology, and how my failure to appreciate this book reflects my limitations rather than those of the book. You don't really need to bother defending this book, because the masses seem to agree with you.
But if you ask me, this was a Harlequin. Boring Pa ...more
Jun 23, 2018
may ➹
rated it
it was amazing
Recommended to may ➹ by:
dyl
Shelves:
read-2018,
library,
buddy-reads,
diverse,
my-soul-hurts,
rep-lgbtqiap-mlm,
my-heart,
pov-1st,
5-star,
retelling
5/9/20: yes it’s 5pm on a regular Saturday evening and I’m thinking about “I would know him in death, at the end of the world” and crying..... no one talk to me
——————
3/16/20: this is one of those books that get better every time you reread it and by better I mean worse because you will cry over every little thing that happens
——————
3/7/19: imagine being me and rereading this and having no care for my own emotions and wondering why I’m crying at 2 am
(I already want to reread it again)
——————
3/16/20: this is one of those books that get better every time you reread it and by better I mean worse because you will cry over every little thing that happens
——————
3/7/19: imagine being me and rereading this and having no care for my own emotions and wondering why I’m crying at 2 am
(I already want to reread it again)
“In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood, like a hundred golden urns pouring out the sun.”
I read The Song of Achilles many years ago, before I got into book reviewing, but it always bothered me that I didn’t have a proper review for this beautiful book. I was a little apprehensive about rereading it, because I wasn’t sure if it would hold up and impact me the way it did many years ago. But, friends, this s ...more
*This review is dedicated to Kelly without whose question I would not have thought so hard about why I loved this book.
Miller has called this book “The Song of Achilles”. The title could refer to a song sung by Achilles. It could also refer to a song sung about Achilles. This double meaning is significant as the book retells the story of the Illiad but with a very different focus. The title is significant too because it deliberately recalls the start of the Illiad: “Sing, goddess, of the wrath ...more
Miller has called this book “The Song of Achilles”. The title could refer to a song sung by Achilles. It could also refer to a song sung about Achilles. This double meaning is significant as the book retells the story of the Illiad but with a very different focus. The title is significant too because it deliberately recalls the start of the Illiad: “Sing, goddess, of the wrath ...more
We despise spoilers. We avoid them at all costs, cover them with spoiler tags, and castigate those who share them. But a great book is one that we can appreciate even when we already know the ending. That's how it was with The Song of Achilles: I knew the fates of the characters beforehand, but no matter how much I tried to brace myself, the last few chapters still broke my heart in the best possible way.
What had Deidameia thought would happen, I wondered, when she had her women dance for me? Ha ...more
What had Deidameia thought would happen, I wondered, when she had her women dance for me? Ha ...more
I'm sorry. But I have no interest in this anymore.
...more
...more
I still do not have the words to describe how broken I am right now. I knew what would happen, I knew it already, and yet you know who is lying in two broken pieces on the floor? I AM. I won't be getting up don't wait for me. 😭😭
I think the two things I can possibly cobble together are:
(1) my unending love for the first half of the book. How deeply and wholly Patroclus and Achilles loved each other, as silly little boys and then as gangly teens and then as proud young men. They made each other w ...more
I think the two things I can possibly cobble together are:
(1) my unending love for the first half of the book. How deeply and wholly Patroclus and Achilles loved each other, as silly little boys and then as gangly teens and then as proud young men. They made each other w ...more
“ACHILLES, it reads. And beside it, PATROCLUS”
“IN THE DARKNESS, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun”
This book was just utterly heartbreaking and breathtakingly beautiful. I’m in love with every aspect of it.
The end, the end broke me💔! In the best and worst way possible.
BR with Khadidja (sorry, I just couldn't wait, had to finish this💗). ...more
“IN THE DARKNESS, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun”
This book was just utterly heartbreaking and breathtakingly beautiful. I’m in love with every aspect of it.
The end, the end broke me💔! In the best and worst way possible.
BR with Khadidja (sorry, I just couldn't wait, had to finish this💗). ...more
This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷
🌟 I have heard a lot of great things about Madeline and this book and I did not read it for the longest time. When she released her second book, I jumped immediately into it and I liked her writing but I was a bit bored and the plot could not capture my full attention then. I decided to give this book a ch ...more
“Chiron had said once that nations were the most foolish of mortal inventions. “No man is worth more than another, wherever he is from.”
🌟 I have heard a lot of great things about Madeline and this book and I did not read it for the longest time. When she released her second book, I jumped immediately into it and I liked her writing but I was a bit bored and the plot could not capture my full attention then. I decided to give this book a ch ...more
I will wait for you among the shades… ..
Just finished the last pages. As said to a good Goodreads friend here earlier today: Beautiful, brutal, raw, mythical, extraordinary and heartbreaking. How can I not give five stars?!
The fifth star did come in the last part of the book, which I loved. The final pages surprised me, emotional. This type of book is not immediately my genre, but after reading Circe, I find myself intrigued by Greek mythology and this writer knows how to tell great stories. Thi ...more
Just finished the last pages. As said to a good Goodreads friend here earlier today: Beautiful, brutal, raw, mythical, extraordinary and heartbreaking. How can I not give five stars?!
The fifth star did come in the last part of the book, which I loved. The final pages surprised me, emotional. This type of book is not immediately my genre, but after reading Circe, I find myself intrigued by Greek mythology and this writer knows how to tell great stories. Thi ...more
I LOVED THIS BOOK! Heading their story and the trust they had in each other is something I’ll never forget. They were truly inevitable.
The plot itself is flawless, easily going from childhood to the end. The friendship was beautiful, and when more cams: that was better. The tragedy was heart wrenching, and the last chapter of the book was hard to read, but I’m so happy with the way it ended.
I like that Miller didn’t stick entirely to the story we’ve come to know about Achilles, the golden boy ...more
The plot itself is flawless, easily going from childhood to the end. The friendship was beautiful, and when more cams: that was better. The tragedy was heart wrenching, and the last chapter of the book was hard to read, but I’m so happy with the way it ended.
I like that Miller didn’t stick entirely to the story we’ve come to know about Achilles, the golden boy ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MagicalNet: Feb 2021 Book Club: The Song of Achilles | 2 | 7 | Feb 16, 2021 10:09PM | |
| Books for Change: February BOTM Discussion: The Song of Achilles | 4 | 19 | Feb 09, 2021 11:18PM | |
| QMed 2023's: The Song of Achilles | 2 | 12 | Feb 08, 2021 10:09PM | |
| Books I Will Shov...: Song Of Achilles | 1 | 19 | Feb 03, 2021 02:58PM |
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Madeline Miller was born in Boston and grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. She attended Brown University, where she earned her BA and MA in Classics. For the last ten years she has been teaching and tutoring Latin, Greek and Shakespeare to high school students. She has also studied at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought, and in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of
...more
![Circe [Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519958627l/38900434._SX98_.jpg "Circe [Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters]")
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11 trivia questions
More quizzes & trivia...
“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.”
—
3301 likes
“Name one hero who was happy."
I considered. Heracles went mad and killed his family; Theseus lost his bride and father; Jason's children and new wife were murdered by his old; Bellerophon killed the Chimera but was crippled by the fall from Pegasus' back.
"You can't." He was sitting up now, leaning forward.
"I can't."
"I know. They never let you be famous AND happy." He lifted an eyebrow. "I'll tell you a secret."
"Tell me." I loved it when he was like this.
"I'm going to be the first." He took my palm and held it to his. "Swear it."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the reason. Swear it."
"I swear it," I said, lost in the high color of his cheeks, the flame in his eyes.
"I swear it," he echoed.
We sat like that a moment, hands touching. He grinned.
"I feel like I could eat the world raw.”
—
2103 likes
More quotes…
I considered. Heracles went mad and killed his family; Theseus lost his bride and father; Jason's children and new wife were murdered by his old; Bellerophon killed the Chimera but was crippled by the fall from Pegasus' back.
"You can't." He was sitting up now, leaning forward.
"I can't."
"I know. They never let you be famous AND happy." He lifted an eyebrow. "I'll tell you a secret."
"Tell me." I loved it when he was like this.
"I'm going to be the first." He took my palm and held it to his. "Swear it."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the reason. Swear it."
"I swear it," I said, lost in the high color of his cheeks, the flame in his eyes.
"I swear it," he echoed.
We sat like that a moment, hands touching. He grinned.
"I feel like I could eat the world raw.”
Feb 20, 2021 07:52PM
It's always nice to ...more
Feb 20, 2021 09:52PM