“The Song Of Achilles” by Madeline Miller

It has been a while since I posted here and to be honest, I am a few books behind for this blog but I am planning to catch up soon! One thing for sure is that I am coming back with another great book – “The Song of Achilles” by Madeline Miller.

It is somehow fitting that I am reading this book on holiday in Greece – Greek mythology in Crete. It is not the first time that I picked Madeline Miller’s book: earlier this year, I read “Circe” and really liked it despite it being not my usual type of reading. A few weeks ago, I dropped by a bookstore in Rotterdam and “The Song of Achilles” caught my eye so it was my pick.

The story itself is, as you can guess, about the Greek hero Achilles and his best friend/ lover Patroclus. It is a modern interpretation of the ancient myth but I liked how Madeline Miller kept her balance there between respecting the legacy of the old myth and adding modern accents to it. The story covers the development of Achilles and Patroclus’ relationship from the time when they were boys, through their adolescence and into adulthood going through the Troyan War together. I liked how Miller raises the question of love and what love means: it spans beyond your anger or selfishness, it spans across your life to the point when the other person is an integral part of you.

I also loved the author’s writing so much: it is eloquent, sharp, and poetic at the same time. Here are a few quotes for you to enjoy it:

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“I stopped watching for ridicule, the scorpion’s tail hidden in his words. He said what he meant; he was puzzled if you did not. Some people might have mistaken this for simplicity. But is it not a sort of genius to cut always to the heart?”

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“I saw then how I had changed. I did not mind any more, that I lost when we raced and I lost when we swam out to the rocks and I lost when we tossed spears and skipped stones. For who can be ashamed to lose to such beauty? It was enough to watch him win, to see the soles of his feet flashing as they kicked up sand, or the rise and fall of his shoulders as he pulled through the salt. It was enough.”

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It is a lovely book: mythical, enchanting, and simply beautiful. I recommend to pick it up.