From the Bookshelf of Once Upon a Time...…

The Song of Achilles

Madeline Miller

Discussion: Mythology

Why we're reading this: 09/30/22 nominated by Nicole
[close] 09/30/22 nominated by Nicole

Find A Copy At

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 4 topics — 60 comments total

Mythology

Circe by Madeline Miller - June 2025
By Gem , Belle · 15 posts · 10 views

last updated Jul 07, 2025 12:29PM

The Bear and the Nightingale (The Winternight Trilogy #1) by Katherine Arden - December 2024
By Gem , Belle · 6 posts · 9 views

last updated Jan 15, 2025 09:13PM

What Members Thought

Apr 30, 2019 Kirstie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Considering my familiarity with the Trojan War I was very interested to see where Miller would take this and I was not disappointed. While it didn’t adhere to the typical love story plot line(which would have been hard and cut a lot out) it was still deeply satisfying and (of course) tragic.
I especially loved their interaction with Briseis and her character in general and would recommend this book to anyone fond of the era and romance.

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 05, 2021 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, historical-fiction, mythology, military-fiction, romance, ya, lgbtq

Even though I already knew the basic backbone of this story, I still enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to see this story through Patroclus’s eyes. He’s awkward in every sense of the word – in his own body, among his peers, at all his endeavors, even among the servants. So an unlikely friendship develops between him and Achilles when they are boys. I walked into this story expecting most of it to be about the very lengthy war on Troy, but most of it was Patroclus (and Achilles) growing up.

The Even though I already knew the basic backbone of this story, I still enjoyed this book. It was refreshing to see this story through Patroclus’s eyes. He’s awkward in every sense of the word – in his own body, among his peers, at all his endeavors, even among the servants. So an unlikely friendship develops between him and Achilles when they are boys. I walked into this story expecting most of it to be about the very lengthy war on Troy, but most of it was Patroclus (and Achilles) growing up.

The beginning was great, sucking me into the story right away. The middle does go into a bit of a slump for me. It’s all awkward sighs and staring longingly at each other as Patroclus and Achilles fall into a romantic relationship. It’s well written, believable, but it still bored me a bit. I’m not big on romance in the first place, but if you like a bit of romance in your stories, you’d probably like enjoy this sweet romance based on friendship, developing into true love over time.

The last quarter of the book picks up again as the guys futz around the beach outside of Troy. Patroclus has some fighter training but his real skill develops as a healer. Meanwhile, Achilles becomes well known for his fighting skills and has his own fan club (the Mermidons). Things do wrap up super quick though. Even though I knew the fate of both characters, it seemed to end too quickly. Though I did absolutely love those last few lines.

The story as a whole incorporates the supernatural as real. Achilles meets with his goddess mother often. In fact, Patroclus has met her a few times and is rightfully terrified of her. I adored that Charion (spelling?), the centaur teacher, was a real influencer of both young boys. Then once we get to Troy’s beaches, we meet other famous Greeks like Odysseus and Ajax.

While there’s plenty I loved about this story, I felt the women were few and far between. The author didn’t shy away from including women from the surrounding villages of Troy being taken as war spoils and how they were treated. Chief among them is Perseus who eventually becomes a true fried to both young men. Then there’s Achilles’s mom Thetis, who is a force to be reckoned with. A few others are named but I would have enjoyed having a few more in the story, influencing the plot. Over all, I enjoyed Miller’s Circe more, though I’m still glad I read this one. 4/5 stars.

The Narration: Frazer Douglas gave an excellent performance. I really liked how he managed to age the main characters up as the story took them from boys to war-hardened men. I also liked his female character voices and his voice for Achilles’s mom Thetis was absolutely chilling. There were plenty of emotional scenes in this book and Douglas made them all believable. The pacing was perfect & there were no tech issues with the recording. 5/5 stars. ...more

Like · see review