Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Le Chant d'Achille

I don't read romance novels anymore but MZ recommended me to read this! I wish I stopped reading at the cave scene to preserve whatever remenant of happiness but whatever ... 😔✋ for the reread I guess.

The words that Madeline Miller uses to describe Patroclus' view of Achilles is perfection. Pure love and admiration boiled down into the most beautiful sentences, with language so descriptive and specific you can feel its physicality and the presence of each character. Aside from Achilles and Patroclus themselves the way in which she crafts this mythological world oh my godddd Madeline Miller the woman that you are???

Possibly overhyped but still is a very good book! I would recommend to experience it at least once in your life 🫶

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dandeliongirl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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asia_libri's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad 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? N/A

4.75

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atreegrowsinbooks's review against another edition

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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

4.75

Edited Review:

I had to come back to change my star rating from 4.75 to 5. It's been several days since I finished this book, and I find myself still thinking about the story and also wanting to do a reread. Since this book has been on my mind a lot, I think it's worth being 5 stars.

Original Review:

I went into this book not knowing much about Greek myths so I didn't know how I'd feel about this book. But, I got a rave book recommendation so figured I'd go for it. I am SO GLAD I DID.

I kept thinking about the story after I put the book down. The pacing was great and I enjoyed how the passage of time was portrayed. Definitely cried hard.

The characters were lovable and hatable. The relationship with Achilles and Patroclus was so complicated.

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jeanelleu's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? No

5.0

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kaygee_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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ajake's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

The book was not exactly what I expected. That being said I did enjoy the story in general. However, I found the characters to be a bit flat and to occasionally take actions which seemed to be contrary to my expectations for them given the background provided. The author forces a modern framework of how sexuality is handled or thought of on the relationship between the two main characters to create a bit of dramatic tension. This isn't a deal breaker exactly but it leads to some strange actions and interactions for the characters that doesn't fit the expectations given knowledge of ancient Greece and the character of Achilles. I don't want to give any spoilers but I was disappointed in the characters and their development.

The story would have benefited from extending the journey by introducing the characters to additional challenges and situations to develop their abilities, relationship, and reputation. A lot of what you would expect to come in the backstory of one of the greatest hero (Training, struggling, initial adventures) is completely absent. This results in Achilles being a literal Marty Stu where he is just the best only because he is the son of a god not because he learned to develop those skills or struggled at all. Later in the book he is referred to by everyone as the best of all Greeks despite the fact that nobody has any way to know this since only a few people have ever seen him fight. This breaks the realism and leaves the reader feeling like they missed something but it just wasn't written.

Despite all of this I still enjoyed the story overall and found it to be an interesting attempt to revisit a classic and show the characters in a new light. I just wish it was done a little better.

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