You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Le Chant d'Achille by Madeline Miller

171 reviews

simply_este's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It took me a while for myself to actually be invested in the relationship between Patroclus and Achilles, but Miller's poetic writing style more than makes up for it. Even in the moments where the story is not progressing as much, her writing style makes it easier for you immerse yourself into the setting and actually feel the emotions and intimacy between the two characters. Although I didn't find myself as "broken" as other readers before me, it DOES pull at your heart. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

boy_topics's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful sad fast-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

4.0

Miller does such an amazing job of twisting the original story to make it super gay and incredibly engaging without straying from the most important plot points from the epic. I think this book should be YA, but it is well written, with a lot of really beautiful and striking moments.  It is heartbreaking but hopeful. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

wthanyell's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“I could recognise 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."

Yes I know everyone uses that quote but it could not be helped.
This book had me hooked from very early on. There was something about the descriptive style of writing that held me; it was effortless to read and despite alot of adjectives being thrown in all the time it didn't halt the experience. I was in awe of how attached I was to the characters from the get-go, I was giddy with excitement over how they came to grow together. It did feel odd to have this sort of reaction over CHILDREN but eventually they were fully-fledged adults and I didn't feel so bad about it. The fact that I knew little to nothing about Greek mythology did not severely impact my experience. What I need to know is laid out for me. However, I think someone who did have previous knowledge of Greek mythology could potentially gain more from reading this text than I did.
I'm not sure why, but this book reminded me of my reading experience with The Wrath & The Dawn so much but I cannot pinpoint why.
The most interesting part of this reading experience was how much my perception of the characters changed throughout the novel, I did not think that I could feel differently toward any of them but was proven wrong in the end.
I would like to read more books of this style in the future, those that are based on Greek mythology as it is an interesting topic to me.

Characters: 9/10
Plot: 8/10
Writing: 9/10
Enjoyment: 8/10

Overall: 4/5
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

skudiklier's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Sometimes when I hear too many good things about a book, I'm hesitant to read it, because how could it live up to the hype? But wow was this amazing.

It's hard to write a review just after reading it, when there are still tears on my face. No one warned me how much this book would make me cry. But honestly by the end I found myself comparing it to Romeo and Juliet--only a much much better version.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

blyndwolf's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Absolutely stunningly written (this book has magnificent quotes for days) and heart-wrenchingly emotional, I found this unique retelling of the Trojan War to be exceedingly refreshing.

I read this book as a method of stress-relief during final exams and it just made me feel like all my real-life problems were insignificant as hell. I would give anything to have a love like Achilles and Patroclus; their relationship made me feel SO warm and fuzzy. I definitely squealed with delight on multiple occasions at the cutesy bits, and I loved that their relationship wasn’t perfectly linear. I liked how there was significant and meaningful emphasis on the flaws of the characters, whether they be god, mortal, or somewhere in between.

The ending was absolutely perfect. Thetis’ anger and intervention throughout their relationship paired with her actions in the final pages was just 🤌🏼 *chef’s kiss*.


RATING:
The reason I rated 4.5/5 is because I wasn’t as emotionally invested as I would’ve liked to be near the end – I wanted this book to make me scream in despair and sob until I couldn’t sob anymore, however I had a 2 month break between reading the first 4/5 and the last 5th, which likely ruined my immersion. I also found the pacing to be quite slow in some parts. Everything else was perfect. I definitely think everyone should read this book before they die. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

tvaia's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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

  It was a very emocional story and well-written retelling of the Iliad. I really liked the way the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus progressed and it didn't feel forced but i would have prefered even more  scenes and dialogues between them. I thought it was a great choice that we read the story from Patroclus's point of view even though Achilles is always the center of every story related to Iliad.  I also like that the story explored some secondary characters.  
 The narration focuses very little on the battles but at the same time doesn't shy away from the brutality of the war and for me that was the right choice. 
 The ending was bittersweet but it fitted the story perfectly.
Their story was meant to be tragic from the beginning anyway.
 
 I liked how the gods were represented but especialy the heroes and the demigods. Even though it was made obvious that they had something "more" than the rest of the mortals, that didn't mean they were perfect or that their divinity was a good thing.
The contrast between achilles and his son neoptolemus was the most obvious example that makes perfect sense once you read it.
. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

emmadub's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

It was much better than Circe, but it just was not for me. It was way more interesting because it was not told from Achilles's POV. Overall, I thought it was just fine. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

grace05's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

nefari_'s review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Feeling…devastated.  I’m at… a lost…speechless if you will 🙃
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

words_and_coffee's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

Added to my list of favourite books of all time, as soon as I finished it (after I eventually stopped crying) I bought myself a copy for my shelves, because I needed to have a copy that I can reread, annotate and make everyone I know read. 
I went into The Song of Achilles knowing the basic story and the ending but somehow it still managed to demolish me so fully that I'm still recovering, and throughout the book have me hoping that it wouldn't end how I knew it would. So even if you know the story trust me it's still a compelling read.
Though Madeline Miller's writing is beautiful while also being very readable and the story is a classic, where I think she thrives best with her characters. All her characters are fully formed and believable, with realistic motivators and massive, relatable flaws, their decisions make sense even if you are shouting at the pages that they are making a mistake and while the cast of characters is quite vast they are differentiable and their connections to other characters while complex is followable.
The book covers themes of honour, pride and legacy along with fate, control, self-hood and responsibility. It is a book that relies heavily on emotion, characters' relationships and at its core: love so if that is not something you seek in books it might not be your bag but as someone who enjoys periodically destroying themself it was right up my alley.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings