The Song of Achilles in Ranters and Reviewers

May 05, 2021 Bryce Rocks My Socks rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fav, made-me-cry, lgbtqia, have-2-pry-out-of-my-cold-hands

why did it take me this long to find out about a gay greek mythology book? seriously I'm disappointed in myself. I'm better than this ...more

247 likes · Like · see review

Feb 06, 2022 Charmel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbtq-rep, fantasy

I finally finished this after a month!! Phew
I will be half-thrashing this book.

Pre-review:

if this won't hurt me then i will be thrashing this book ...more

67 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2021 Unknown Reviews rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbt-reads, female-author, 4-star, 2021-reads, characters-were-meh

The Song of Achilles is a book that has been everywhere recently. If I stumble across a Youtube video titled “books I recommend to everyone!” The Song of Achilles tends to end up in there somewhere. Sadly, my knowledge of Greek mythology is minimal. I haven’t read the Percy Jackson series (yet, I will do it soon, I promise.) And while I didn’t connect with everything in this book, I must admit, I came away in awe of the beauty and the prose I read.

Patroclus, a young prince, has been exiled from The Song of Achilles is a book that has been everywhere recently. If I stumble across a Youtube video titled “books I recommend to everyone!” The Song of Achilles tends to end up in there somewhere. Sadly, my knowledge of Greek mythology is minimal. I haven’t read the Percy Jackson series (yet, I will do it soon, I promise.) And while I didn’t connect with everything in this book, I must admit, I came away in awe of the beauty and the prose I read.

Patroclus, a young prince, has been exiled from his kingdom after a tragic accident. Moving to the court of King Peleus, he meets his son, Achilles. Achilles is golden, perfect, a god in the making. Yet, when he takes interest in Patroclus, a bond between the two boys is formed, deeper and more intense than anyone can imagine.

There really is something about Miller’s writing. I was captivated by her prose while simultaneously being infinitely jealous of it. She really does have a way with words. The first half of the book I adored. The growing relationship between Patroclus and Achilles was raw and genuine, two teenage boys slowly become infatuated with each other, but reluctant to admit anything that shows their love. It kind of works that they’re opposites. Patroclus is weak, shy, socially awkward while Achilles is outgoing and beloved by all who meet him. It is technically the adult version of Nerdy Boy gets with Popular boy, but it works. I was really rooting for those first moments between them, especially considering the divide in social status. Achilles is destined for greatness with the potential to evolve from demi-god to god provided he achieves monumental glory. Patroclus is the unwanted exile and thus appears an unworthy match for Achilles, particularly to Thetis, Achille’s mother who is devoid of emotion (I’m not exaggerating. Wow, she is cold).

Watching all this occur as they grow up together makes them a cute couple to follow, at first. I loved the section of the book when they were with Chiron, a centaur, who assured both their skills developed and encouraged the bond between them. But, then of course, I entered the main body and event of the book; The Trojan War.

And I think that’s where I lost interest a bit.

From Chiron out, I somewhat liked and disliked the pacing. There is the gathering up of troops which is quite prompt (besides a few odd excursions which I guess is just Greek Mythology for you?), but then when we drift to the war, it takes up another chunk of the book. The war lasted ten years, so it makes sense that Miller delved into how the lives of the soldiers changed overtime. And the thing is, I found that interesting but at the same time it removed urgency from the book and not much advancement was made. I thought the ending was explosive and excellently done (especially those last few pages), but I didn’t weep though everyone promised me I’d need a tissue box near me when I finished this. Why, I think? Because I never connected to the characters and found them the least interesting aspect of this book.

In theory, I liked them as personas. How Achilles is this stellar, unbreakable demi-god and Patroclus is shy and caring – those types of people tend to work for me. Unfortunately, I feel they were quite thinly drawn. Patroclus is incredibly passive at the beginning. He has little motivations or desires besides Achilles, and I literally mean all he cares for is Achilles. To me, he felt like someone just narrating the story while not participating in it. He wasn’t witty or interesting, and it was hard to find why Achilles was invested in him. Likewise, I found Achilles to be a symbol of perfection at the beginning. He rarely did wrong or lashed out, and his lack of flaws made him uninteresting.

But then when we move to the Trojan War, this flipped. I grew to like Patroclus more as he assimilated into life at the camp and genuinely went out of his way to help people. I wasn’t as indifferent to him as I was at the beginning and felt he had some form of development. Yet, Achilles slowly grows worse as the book goes on. I understand that’s the point. Even Rick Riordan (the guy whose books I haven’t read yet) pointed out in his review he considers Achilles to be a “brat” and a “bully,” before explaining Miller painted Achilles in a new light. Perhaps it’s my unfamiliarity with the source but since I didn’t find Achilles a captivating character at the start, his devolution just looked like a series of bad character choices. The kind you see in films you know, where someone’s stubborn for the sake of being stubborn because the plot requires it. After finishing the book, I texted my friend, and said “Achilles is an idiot.” They replied, “yes.”

I admit, it’s not necessarily true I have zero knowledge of Greek Mythology. I read a big book years ago and came away with one conclusion; the majority of Greek gods are petty and annoying. So, technically, yes, this book concluded as expected! Ignoring how Achilles’ and Patroclus’ personalities (or lack of them) hindered the plot, I want to go further on and say it sadly also let down the relationship for me. When you have two characters that are quite bland and mesh them together, it’s hard to feel a genuine connection besides being told it through prose. I just wasn’t invested in their relationship and as Achilles’ worsened, I realised I wasn’t sure what this book was giving me. Like I said, it felt like Achilles was being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn. But that is actually just Greek Mythology, so Miller wasn’t being inaccurate in keeping it in. I just think that even ignoring that aspect, the characters weren’t well done. They both mostly remained two-dimensional and as a result, character development for certain events didn’t feel earned.

I don’t know how much of this review makes sense. I do think it’s a good book, but I unfortunately never felt the connection between the characters that I strived to find (besides a beautiful ending). I think I’d re-read at some stage, but less for the relationship and more the prose. I feel this is an unusual opinion, considering the love the book has, and for good reason, but it just didn’t work for me this time! :)
...more

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Jul 28, 2021 Hershey rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: hype-with-a-capital-h, need-to-review, dark-academia, lgbtq, expectations-at-mt-everest, ahhhhhhhh, yay-booktok, my-heart-my-heart, dam-i-got-feelings, bawling

Me after reading this book:

I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
cause I remember it all, all, all (too well)
They say all's well that end's well but I'm in a new hell every time, (I think about this book)
They said if I had read The Song of Achilles, I'd not be fine
And they were totally right ...more

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Dec 30, 2020 Indy rated it really liked it

Shelves: greek-mythology

I honestly do not have the words or energy to write a review. No thoughts, head empty. A beautifully written story with an ending... You must read for yourself to understand . I just know one thing- and that is that the main romance has warmed my heart immensely.

6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 17, 2021 Max rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-would-die-for

still one of my favourites🥰🥰🥰

3 likes · Like · see review

Jan 05, 2022 Whitney Gitaari rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Respectfully, leave me alone 🤧

3 likes · Like · see review

May 26, 2021 Hershey rated it really liked it

I cried where I least expected to cry. I am not saying that this book will be a tearjerker, give you a good cry, heartbreaking et cetera. But it is close. It gave me new insights on all the Greek characters I thought I knew so well... Miller just stunned me with her writing and how she carries the story. There was not a single moment where I thought the writing to be lagging, so basically a fantastic book! Read it folks and fall in love with the romantic tragedy of Patroclus and Achilles.

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 25, 2022 ♡May ♡ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Wow soo this book

Literally a masterpiece, the writing style, the characters and the history itself.Everything works.

I’m devastated but so in love with the book it surprises me.
Patroclus I love him so much, the perfect man, the greatest, the kindest and the best.
Achilles I forgive u for your pride and I love u so much as well.

Their relationship is everything, so we’ll done, it’s not rushed it makes sense and their bond is beautiful
The last paragraph 💕

Once again thanks Izzy for giving me such a p ...more

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Dec 15, 2020 ash rated it really liked it

Shelves: greek-myth, historical-fiction, lgbtq

ok so i’m back and i finally finished this book.

and oh my god?? i’m crying. i love their story and the retelling of the battle of troy. the ending was heartwarming. the writing was lyrical. i loved this book.

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Oct 24, 2020 Casselya marked it as to-read

Shelves: tel

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Mar 23, 2021 lizzie ⋆｡☽˚｡ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mythology-and-retellings, that-hurt, historical, sad, friends-to-lovers, lgbtq-rep

1 like · Like

May 19, 2021 Meghan Q rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

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Nov 29, 2020 Araia marked it as this-year-reading-goal · review of another edition

Shelves: retelling, electronically-owned

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Dec 08, 2020 maria ♥ marked it as to-read

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Jan 05, 2021 ♡ Fen ♡ marked it as to-read

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Feb 01, 2021 amanda ☽ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

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Feb 14, 2021 Aarushi marked it as to-read

Shelves: fantasy-sci-fi-dystopian-tbrs, immediate-to-be-read, historical-fiction-tbrs

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Feb 15, 2021 Bella :) marked it as to-read · review of another edition

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Feb 28, 2021 Cassie marked it as to-read

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Mar 01, 2021 emma marked it as to-read

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Apr 18, 2021 bookishcarli rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, books-i-have-a-copy-of, romance, this-book-made-me-cry, historial-fiction, amazing-protaganist, adult, queer

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edit: reread this and the previous review still stands. hand to resist the urge to cry in multiple classes. amazing book. ...more

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