logo
Wrong email address or username
Wrong email address or username
Incorrect verification code
back to top
Search tags: The-Song-of-Achilles
Load new posts () and activity
Like Reblog Comment
show activity (+)
review 2019-06-08 20:43
Review: The Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

I couldn't get into this.  I had to switch between paperback and audiobook to get through it.  

 

I love the subject matter and the fact that the story focused on Achilles and Patroclus growing up together and falling for one another.  It was interesting how they lived with the spectre of both their deaths as they grew older, both knowing that they wouldn't live into old age.  I loved everything about the story except for the fact that I was bored reading/listening to it.  I'm not sure why, but my attention didn't fully perk up until the last few chapters.

 

I'm going to chalk this up to the reader and not the author.  I will attempt a reread this some other time to see if I perhaps just read it at the wrong time or in the wrong frame of mind.  It's happened to me before and I've ended up loving a book or movie the second time around.

 

All-in-all I think it was well researched and put together, just couldn't get excited for it.

Like Reblog Comment
review SPOILER ALERT! 2019-06-05 00:50
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

 

I enjoyed this book more than Circe, which I gave it the DNF mark. However, I had some difficulty engaging with the story during the first part of the book, but I got hook at the part where Achilles is introduced in the story. Then during the middle section, the pacing became too slow and tedious for me. I was close to DNFing the whole thing. Fortunately, the story's pacing improved when the Trojan War began. The Trojan War parts were my favorite because it combined the right amount of action, drama, and romance for me. Even though TSOA has much better pacing than Circe, it still has some problems of explaining stuff instead of showing thing happens. But, it didn't detract my enjoyment. I find the ending to be satisfying and avoids being too cheesy. 

 

Despite her small role, I enjoyed reading about Briseis and I felt sad when she died. Patroclus and Achilles's characters were hard to get into at first, but they eventually grew on me. It was the same for Thetis as well. It was heart-warming to read about her helping Patroclus reunite with Achilles after death.

 

As a stand alone romance book, I liked it. I don't think the story was mind-blowing, but it was a nice read to pass time during recess.

(spoiler show)

 

Like Reblog Comment
show activity (+)
review SPOILER ALERT! 2019-01-19 19:06
Final Thoughts: Song of Achilles
 The Song of Achilles: A Novel - Madeline Miller

This one is definitely going into my list of favorite reads for this year. It moved me deeply enough that I'm not sure how much I can even write about it. I might have to come back and add to this post in the days to come, because I know that the story and characters will haunt me for a while.

 

It took me several pages to realize who the first person POV was (in my defense, it's been at least a couple of decades since I last read the source material), and I found the choice intriguing. Why Patroclus? After all, he will die before Achilles, and it is his death that calls down the final act of the hero's life. But it made sense. Patroclus is the one closest to Achilles, the one who knows him almost better than he knows himself. At the same time, it lets the reader have some needed distance from Achilles; after all, he is half god, and there is always a part of him that is unknowable and must remain so.

 

Of course, this left me wondering how the ending would be handled. After all, what is the story of Achilles without his final rage at the death of Patroclus, and his own fate fulfilled? The solution came in the story's environment itself: the system of beliefs that populate the world with shades and spirits, until these are put to rest. Thus, through the eyes of a now helpless and immaterial Patroclus, we see the final days of Achilles, and the end of the war. And only once the story is complete does Patroclus gain his release, and is able to rejoin his beloved Achilles.

 

There's a lot more here, of course: the story of two boys growing up together; a mother's attempts to procure both safety and fame for her son; and above all the complicated insistence on a man's honor and memory. Achilles, and the men of his society, are definitely in the camp of "better to burn out than fade away." Given the choice between a long but uneventful life and a brief glorious one, he chooses the latter. It is Patroclus who helps us, the readers, understand this philosophy; we share his journey from denial to acceptance of Achilles' destiny.

 

This helps give depth to a hero who is often perceived as being arrogant and a shallow chaser of glory. We see him as a young man, decidedly against fighting and struggling to come to terms with the divine part of himself. Later on, a prisoner of prophesies, he still does his best to remain in control of the situation, helping drag the war along for a decade as he postpones his encounter with Hector, whose death will precede his according to fate. And finally, we see him accept that everything happened as foretold, and seek out his own end. By the end of his story, we might still be frustrated at some of his decisions, but we also acknowledge that he knows things we do not about the fickleness of fate and of the gods. And, in the end, we are perhaps comforted by the thought that he and Patroclus are reunited in the afterlife. How this last piece of the puzzle falls into place is the most moving part of all.

 

Edit: I had meant to include accompanying music; a piece or album that I find goes well with the book. For this one, the album that came to mind was An Ancient Muse, by Loreena McKennitt.

Like Reblog Comment
review 2018-10-10 00:00
The Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller Powerful. Lyrical. Poignant. Stirring. This book is one of the best love stories I have ever read. Far from chick-lit or a romance novel, this story is a take on the life of Achilles, told by his love and best friend, Patroclus. “Name one hero that was happy,” Achilles asked of Patroclus. “I’m going to be the first.”

Driven by a need to be a hero and legend, Achilles trains to be the greatest warrior of all time. Fighting in a senseless war over a woman, Achilles drives toward his fate. Patroclus tells the story of the war, the kings and princes, and the gods who used the Trojan war to gain fame and fortune.

I hung on every word and developed such a love for these rich characters. Powerful. Read it.
Like Reblog Comment
review 2018-07-19 00:00
The Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest

image

The Song Of Achilles became a part of my TBR list right after I finished reading Circe. I loved Circe and it is one of my favorite books of 2018. I also enjoyed The Song of Achilles, but not nearly as much.

For the ones out there who love greek mythology, this is a book that covers Achilles’s life told from Patroclus’s point of view. It is more or less accurate, and covers a lot of details from the early lives of these two princes. This is a story about one great friendship that turns into something more, a lot of challenges, a lot of doubts, and a lot of choices to be made during a time of war.

The story is very fast paced, and I was skipping through the pages as fast as Achilles was killing Trojan warriors. From their childhood, to their growing up, to their adventures and the war, this book will never keep you calm, because every chapter something unexpected happens. Well, sometimes not too much, as I know the story, but even still, I was quite surprised.

image

A thing that bothered me a lot throughout the whole book was the inaccuracy at some points and hiding information.

Now, we all know that Achilles was immortal. And we all know the story that his mother Thetis, a goddess of water dipped his body into the water in the river Styx. However, she was holding him by the heel, so his heel was the only place where he was vulnerable. This will be the reason of his death, when Apollo would direct Paris’s spear into Achilles’ heel.

Now - if this is such a common fact, and everybody who heard about Achilles knows it - why wouldn’t the author include it in the book. It wasn’t mentioned once.. Not once… I found this really upsetting.

Moving forward to the characters, we have Patroclus presented as the weaker one, the coward, the person that is mocked by everyone, not loved even by his parents and unworthy. ( Another point that bothered me is that this is not entirely true - according to Homer, Patroclus was apparently wiser than Achilles)

On the other hand, we have the opposite - a wise, brave, strong and handsome man, loved by everyone, immortal and a son of a goddess. We have a perfect example for a leader.

While fate connect these two to meet from their very early years, they also build a love relationship which they try to hide it at first. This relationship will cause them hatred from Thetis (Achilles’ mom) and will prompt them to make choices that might not be necessarily good ones. Now, Homer never mentioned a pederasty in his works between these two, but Miller does. And I am not sure how I feel about it. Not about the fact that they are gay, but the fact that this is Achilles.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. It is a great retelling of the story and a great time capture of the past. It wasn’t anything special, and I didn’t feel heartbroken in the end, but it was definitely worth reading it. I give it three stars ★★★.
More posts
Your Dashboard view:
Need help?