Song of Achilles

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

(Format used for this read: Audiobook)

A couple years ago, my fabulous (and fellow book worm) sister in law told me to read the book “Circe” by Madeline Miller.

I LOVED IT SO MUCH!

You can read that review here (FYI this was in the very beginning of my sharing my book thoughts with the world, so it’s MUCH shorter and less detailed than you may be used to from me 😆)

Circe

When she again recommended another book by this author that was ALSO another retelling of Greek mythology, I knew I HAD to check it out.

I can’t remember when Melinda told me to read “Song of Achilles” but it has been on my TBR list for like 100 forevers….and I JUUUUST was able to find it on my Scribd app! (BTW I still ADORE that freakin’ app yall…it’s like Netflix for BOOKS! And cheaper than Audible! GAH… the amazingness!)

Interestingly enough, this was Madeline Miller’s debut novel…written 6 years before “Circe” so I don’t know why I had such a tough time finding it 🤷‍♀️

Anywho, I just LOOOOVE having a SIL who reads such awesome books all the time…and then tells ME to read them! She’s the BEST 🎉

Here is what this book was about in summary:

“A thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War from the bestselling author of Circe

A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.”

The narrator for this audiobook sounded like a mixture between Jude Law and also Neil Gaiman….so I found it just DELIGHTFUL to listen to!

.I’m assuming he has watched the 2004 movie “Troy”….because his Achilles voice sounded a WHOLE lot like Brad Pitt and his Agamemnon voice was also a close replica of the actor who played him as well. I could DEFINITELY see where he got his narrating inspiration! 😆

But that worked for me because to be real, that movie is where the majority of my knowledge of Achilles and Patroclus was obtained.

Which is ironically funny because one of my most favorite electives I took in my high school days was Greek Mythology. And I seem to have forgotten EVERY SINGLE THING I learned in there. (I mean, it WAS in the mid 1990s…and I don’t really remember a damn thing I was taught in MOST of my high school classes…. Yall know yall probably don’t either so don’t put yall selves on some high scholastic pedestal here 🤣)

This book is a retelling of the Trojan war and of the life of Achilles….but the main focus of it all is the bond between him and Patroclus.

The whole book is based on The Iiliad and told from Patroclus’ point of view. This I found to be fantastic. The excellent writing and story development paired with the dreamy powerfulness of the narrator’s voice had me SO immersed while listening I didn’t even keep little notes of my thoughts along the way in my phone as I usually do.

All I knew about Achilles and Patroclus was what I saw in the movie Troy…where it was said they were “cousins”.

And ummmm…..yeahhhhh….so THAT isn’t really such an accurate interpretation. 😑

Many scholastic and classic interpretations over the years have described the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus as most likely a romantic one.

After I finished the book, Scribd recommended podcast episodes related to the subject matter (which I NEVER KNEW was a feature of this app before and is the COOLEST DISCOVERY EVEERRRRRRRRRR for a nerd like me who almost ALWAYS does post book research 😁)

I listened to a podcast called “Queer As Fact” where they dissected *many* interpretations, discussed historical references and read pieces of the “original” work ( I put that in quotations because nobody really knows WHAT the original work is because it has been rewritten and retold so many times ) It was hella informative and interesting…I was completely absorbed while listening!

And lissssennnnnn……It’s kinda GLARINGLY OBVIOUS to me that in the story of Achilles, Patroclus DEFINITELY was his beloved…. DEFINITELY more than a close friend or cousin.

There is NO QUESTION about that, in my opinion.

And I feel like it takes away so much beauty and intricacy to not acknowledge that.

In this book’s retelling, this is also the view the author takes…. Patroclus tells the story of their relationship, from it’s beginning as friendship between young boys to it’s transformation into true devotion of grown men.

This book is about love and connection and committment….between lovers but also between friends, family and community. It is a tragic love story as so many tales are…but it’s also powerful, lovely, joyful, mystical, and action packed too.

Books that feel like you are transported into a story are a bookworm DREAM. It’s what we want EVERY book to be…and for the most part, they all are…it’s what keeps us going back for the next chapter, the next story, the next read again and again and again.

But SOME BOOKS pull you in just a little more than other ones do….we can’t explain it but there are some that just have that little extra reader magic…..if you know, YOU KNOW.

THIS was one of those.

Greek mythology has always fascinated me (see above about one of my high school electives) and every reimagined and retold story I have read in this genre has been so magical and so entertaining. It’s like a bit of history mixed with so much imagination and folklore and tradition. To me, there are always lessons to learn about humanity when reading about gods and goddesses. The things that make our mortal lives so jarring or electric are amplified times a million…and the consequences and rewards are as well.

Such a marvelous read, my friends.

ALSO….

For those of you who like some steaminess in your romantic tales, there is also some of that in this story.

Definitely not as over the top as that too hot to handle 5th book in the ACOTAR series I finished recently, but just enough to add some spice.

Funny story about that….

I was getting into my car with my boys to run errands and my car’s Bluetooth automatically started playing this book. I have no idea why it did this because it NEVER EVER EVER will do this when I want it to, but for some reason that day it did.

And wouldn’t you know that the part I was on was one of the sex scenes…and in this sex scene, the narrator is describing various sexual body parts and “patches of hair”. My volume was BLARING…. I was freaking out trying to find my phone in my purse and pause my read…. it just kept playing and playing…I finally just turned the car off to get myself together and shut it up 🤣

Now…why I didn’t just TURN THE DAMN VOLUME DOWN I have no idea 😆 My 14 year old in the front seat was kinda in shock and my 8 year old was completely oblivious….I was the one who was the most flustered by the whole experience. LOL

That being said…parts of this book are NOT for kiddos ears so enter your car and Bluetooth territory accordingly 🤣