There are no bargains between lions and men. I will kill you and eat you raw.
The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
Genre: Historical Fantasy
About: Patroclus is one of many exiled sons of nobles and princes, brought to Peleus, father of Achilles, to train in his army. He's never been noticeable before, or good with a spear. Yet one day Achilles, the golden boy made for godhood, looks at him and his eyes don't pass over as other's so often do. But while Achilles is destined to be the Best of the Greeks, Patroclus has no destiny other than to be mortal, and die a mortal's death.
The Good
The writing is pure poetry. And I don't mean that it has overly flowery language, but that Miller has unique and evocative descriptions. A character's voice, the way they move, a memory or a touch - it's all described in a novel yet familiar way so that you not only believe you're in ancient Greece, but that somehow you're reading an historical account of the gods and goddesses as well. It is a modern retelling of Homer's Iliad (with Circe, her other novel, nodding to The Odyssey) but it's also cut from the same cloth as it feels both modern and ancient.
Oh, and the romance is everything. Not in a gushy, mushy, aren't they so cute, kind of way, not at all. The love story is a true song of Achilles, sung through Patroclus and breathtakingly beautiful to read. Some of the dialogue makes you freeze so you can hold on to the moment.
The Bad
There isn't really much bad to say. I guess there was a middle portion before Achilles joins the war and is in disguise, where the action felt a little like a filler episode (even that it wasn't). Or maybe a reader might not enjoy that there are no twists, as likely you know what happens to Patroclus and Achilles in the end so the Prophecies are not as interesting as they might be in ordinary fantasies. But neither of these things take away from this being a beautifully, well-crafted novel.
The Somewhat Iffy
Patroclus is exiled early in the story for murder that, the more you get to know him, feels almost impossible that he would have done that. And his actions at the end, likewise, don't seem connected to the man he's grown into. He becomes rash and bloodthirsty almost - turning briefly I think into the man his father had wished him to be. I would have preferred knowing a god/goddess had caused him to lose his mind in that moment as he didn't feel like Patroclus. Or perhaps I was just frustrated with him for acting in such a stupid way.
Overall
I loved Circe, Madeline Miller's debut novel, and I honestly wasn't expecting to fall in love with this one as much. But I did, again. I've read The Odyssey and The Iliad so I already love that world and the myths that fill it, but Miller brings the characters to life in a new way.
Comments