The Song of Achilles

Madeline Miller
Star Rating
★★★★★
Reviewer's Rating
Jul 17, 2014

This is a coming-of-age story, a love story, and a retelling of the Iliad all in one masterfully told epic. Miller at once succeeds in adding depth and substance to Achilles and Patroclus and also preserving the dramatic feel of the war that is the backdrop to their relationship.

Patroclus is awed and then befriended by Achilles, a young prince who is the opposite of Patroclus: easy in his young body, beautiful, privileged. As their friendship develops into a love affair, they are carried along by the fate that we know propels them toward a tragedy. Miller develops her characters with a sure, subtle prose, the romance and battle are handled with an equally confident hand. This book is a joy on many levels and should appeal to lovers of the Iliad, as well as fantasy, historical fiction, and myth.

Reviewed by Jo F.
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