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davbat's review
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Extremely tragic, even more than you'd expect going into it with knowledge of the story. Time after time, Miller shows you what could have been if not for fate/pride/war. Extremely tragic doomed romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Murder, Child abuse, Child death, and Rape
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Self harm, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Slavery, Death, Animal death, and Outing
Minor: Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, and Cannibalism
Rape and murder are just as common as in the original myth but without any of the euphemismbeebowbabe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, War, and Violence
Moderate: Rape and Homophobia
Minor: Pregnancy
potatodel's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Homophobia
phrasecollector13___'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Time read: 9 hours, 7 minutes
WARNING: THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW
Oh my God, they love each other so much, and so on and on, the only thing people will talk to me about this book was the romance. I drop it off my TBR, because I was not going to read a romance (nothing wrong with romance, is just not my type of genere). Let me said, what people would tell me about this book didn't make justice at all to the story. Yeah, okay, the romance was, beautiful, they were meant for each other, but that's the only thing in the Patroclus and Achilles relationship? This relationship ran deeper than the romance that bloomed between them, and that's what made this book precious to: the tragedy of each character, not only Patroclus and Achilles, most (if not all) of the characters in this book have a tragedy going after them. Which is what made this book amazing: the tragedy, the drama, that most of Greek mythology stories carries with them. I won't say that The Song of Achilles is better than Circe (Circe will always be my baby book), but it can't be denied that both books are amazing re-telling of Greek's mythologies.
WARNING: THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW
Oh my God, they love each other so much, and so on and on, the only thing people will talk to me about this book was the romance. I drop it off my TBR, because I was not going to read a romance (nothing wrong with romance, is just not my type of genere). Let me said, what people would tell me about this book didn't make justice at all to the story. Yeah, okay, the romance was, beautiful, they were meant for each other, but that's the only thing in the Patroclus and Achilles relationship? This relationship ran deeper than the romance that bloomed between them, and that's what made this book precious to: the tragedy of each character, not only Patroclus and Achilles, most (if not all) of the characters in this book have a tragedy going after them. Which is what made this book amazing: the tragedy, the drama, that most of Greek mythology stories carries with them. I won't say that The Song of Achilles is better than Circe (Circe will always be my baby book), but it can't be denied that both books are amazing re-telling of Greek's mythologies.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, Violence, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexism
_meganrose's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I knew what was going to happen and still bawled my eyes out multiple times. Madeline Miller’s portrayal of love and grief completely blew me away. This is a read that will sit with me for a very very long time. Epic and heartbreaking. The best novelistic adaptation of a classic tale that I have ever read. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, War, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Rape, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia
karlapardo's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oooof this book. It broke my heart into a million pieces. I did not expect this book to make me cry this much. I also was surprised with the fact that the book is written in Patroclus POV only, which I thought was beautifully thought out because readers can see Achilles the hero in a different way that we are not used to seeing. We see Achilles through Patroclus’ point of view and because of that we are able to see his flaws, and his not-so-hero struggles that make him seem human. The fact that we get to read this from the point of view of the man who loved and cherished this great hero is breathtaking.
Madeline Miller’s reading is…… breathtakingly beautiful. I don’t know how else to describe it if I am being honest. The poetry is just so well done that it’s able to paint such detailed and vivid scenes and emotions in every aspect. The good moments are shown so beautifully with the poesy of the writing and as readers we feel the joy and excitement of each scene. But the bad moments are also so heartbreaking, heart wrenching, devastatingly, painfully so well written that readers are able to feel absolutely everything. It has truly been the best written book I have read this year and I would read it again and again without a doubt. I would go through the pain of it every single time because of the incredible, beautiful, painful love story of Achilles and Patroclus.
Memorable Quotes
Madeline Miller’s reading is…… breathtakingly beautiful. I don’t know how else to describe it if I am being honest. The poetry is just so well done that it’s able to paint such detailed and vivid scenes and emotions in every aspect. The good moments are shown so beautifully with the poesy of the writing and as readers we feel the joy and excitement of each scene. But the bad moments are also so heartbreaking, heart wrenching, devastatingly, painfully so well written that readers are able to feel absolutely everything. It has truly been the best written book I have read this year and I would read it again and again without a doubt. I would go through the pain of it every single time because of the incredible, beautiful, painful love story of Achilles and Patroclus.
Memorable Quotes
- “ACHILLES, it reads. And beside it, PATROCLUS. ‘Go’ she says. ‘He waits for you.’”
- “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.”
- “He smiled, and his face was like the sun.”
Achilles’ eyes lift. They are bloodshot and dead “I wish he had let you all die.” Achilles weeps. He cradles me, and will not eat, nor speak a word other than my name.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
hammie_32's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Tried to cheat the system to give this more than 5 stars. I have unfortunately high standards for books to enjoy, and so often my experience is ruined by an ending falling flat. I set the book down about 3 months ago, 10% away from the end, because I couldn't bear to read the rest of it knowing what was coming. My reaction was diluted coming back to it, and i still cried through the last 3 chapters. A devastatingly beautiful queer fiction that I immediately want to restart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Sexual violence, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Transphobia
majestictrilobite's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Homophobia, Medical content, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, Bullying, Blood, Slavery, Death, Deportation, Animal cruelty, Gore, and Rape
baking_muffins's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. Just wow.everything about this book is beautiful. The writing, the setting, the characters, their flaws, the consequences of those flaws. I want everyone to read this masterpiece
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
inkwellimps's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
INCREDIBLY investing reinterpretation of Achilles and Patroclus (and Briseis!) from the Iliad from the point-of-view of Patroclus. The story begins in the pair's childhood and follows their origins through their deaths and, in Patroclus' case, a bit further.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Death, Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Slavery
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Medical content
Minor: Gore, Grief, and Bullying
Child death refers to