The Song of Achilles in Crazy Challenge Connection

Aug 23, 2021 fleurette rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

This is a very well-told story. Unfortunately, I have read too many very good books to admire it as much as some other readers. I just have a lot stories to compare this book to. After all the positive words that I read in the reviews, I expected something spectacular. And while this is a great book, it did not bring me to my knees as I expected.

I know Greek mythology and Iliad by Homer, so I knew how this story would end. As I read this book, I expected to forget what I know and immerse myself This is a very well-told story. Unfortunately, I have read too many very good books to admire it as much as some other readers. I just have a lot stories to compare this book to. After all the positive words that I read in the reviews, I expected something spectacular. And while this is a great book, it did not bring me to my knees as I expected.

I know Greek mythology and Iliad by Homer, so I knew how this story would end. As I read this book, I expected to forget what I know and immerse myself completely in the lives of the main characters. That I would believe that this story may end differently than I remember from mythology. But unfortunately that did not happen. I guess that's because this book is too subtle at times when it should grab your heart and make you cry, and too literal at times when more subtlety and ambiguity could be used. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good story, but a tad too simple to make a real impression on me.

I couldn't help feeling that the author had imposed a page limit on herself and there was simply no room to develop certain scenes. This book is too short for the story it is trying to tell. This makes the characters a bit too flat, especially Achilles. They lack depth and complexity. I believe in Patroclus’ love for Achilles, unconditional but not blind love. To some extent, I even believe in Achilles' love for Patroclus. But I missed those little moments unique to their relationship that would allow me to mourn their relationship in the end. I was able to mourn Patroclus, to whom I became attached, because that is his story. But not the loss Achilles suffered, because I didn't get to know him well enough.

But again, this is a very good story. It’s just that I just read better ones. It just so happened that I read Gates of Fire this year. It is a very similar story, and even to some extent similarly told. But in my opinion, Gates of Fire managed to do what this book did not. I definitely recommend this book to all fans of The Song of Achilles.

This is a very Hollywood story. I don't know if the film adaptation of this book is already in progress. If not then I won't be surprised if they start soon. It's a story that will be very easy to bring to the big screen. And probably with quite good results. Its simplicity makes it easy to recreate in a movie.

I expected it to be the love story of Patroclus and Achilles, but it turned out to be more of an Iliad through the eyes of Patroclus. It was an interesting glimpse and a well written book, but unfortunately it will not join the best books I have read in recent years. ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Aug 16, 2019 Desiree M ~*~*~ LiveReadCollect rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, military-heroes, favorite-couples, books-i-own, 5-star-reads, emotional-read, friends-to-lovers, forbidden-love-offlimits, 0-2012-release-date

4.5 stars.

Like · see review

Sep 14, 2017 Barb rated it liked it

Shelves: zz-completed-in-2017, historical-fiction, audio

Like

Mar 30, 2014 Linda C marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Like

Aug 21, 2014 Rusty marked it as to-read · review of another edition

1 like · Like

Jan 18, 2015 Kelly marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, library, historical-fiction, zhelp-me-decide

Like

Jan 06, 2016 Serena rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Like

Feb 04, 2017 Amy Quigley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-experiences, turkey, greece, bc, fantasy-scifi-horror, mythical-creatures

Like

Oct 24, 2020 Beth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Like

Mar 01, 2019 Kirby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle, 251-450-pages

Like

Nov 03, 2017 Sam marked it as to-read

Shelves: books-i-own

Like

Jul 21, 2018 Veronica marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Like

Feb 16, 2019 Robin P rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Like

Apr 29, 2019 Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos) marked it as to-read

Like

Jun 01, 2020 Madge marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-books, tbr-owned

Like

Jul 15, 2020 Gen marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Like

Feb 04, 2021 Allison Ann marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Like

Feb 18, 2021 April Lowrey marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Like

May 22, 2021 Jessica marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Like

May 31, 2021 Karin marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Like

Aug 12, 2021 Amy ~Lover of Books~ marked it as to-read

Shelves: fairy-tales-retellings

Like

Sep 29, 2021 mussolet marked it as 2024-shelf-challenge · review of another edition

Shelves: 2021-sorted

Like

Apr 14, 2022 Kate rated it it was amazing

Shelves: x-2021

1 like · Like

Dec 24, 2021 Pinar Celebi marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Like

Feb 10, 2022 Amanda marked it as to-read

Like

Sep 28, 2022 Christi Reynard rated it liked it

Like

Aug 01, 2023 Emily marked it as to-read

Like

Sep 20, 2023 Athena Macmillan rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, epics, war, gut-wrencher, action-packed, engaging-plot, exceeded-expectations, grab-the-tissues, star-crossed-lovers, adventure

Like

Jun 23, 2024 Danie marked it as to-read

Like

Oct 04, 2024 Sahar Siddiqi rated it it was amazing

Like

From the Bookshelf of Crazy Challenge Connection…

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

What Members Thought

Crazy Challenge Connection