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

I have always loved Greek Mythology, especially the tale of the Trojan War, this book is really good for someone who is looking for a new take on the classic tale, but also wants to cry for hours on the couch after finishing it.

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jodean's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I will remember Achilles and Patroclus and their love.

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anmane's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

The book was well written in terms of language and pacing, but the subject matter - by this I mean the war, not the romance - was hard for me to stomach. The focus is on the male characters, as it is in the source material, and how women, children or indeed all humans are treated is not sugarcoated. Also, because of the subject matter, there is a lot of violence, gore and cruelty. I also hated Achilles as a character, which made the motivation of Patroclus' actions hard to understand. Will not read again.

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graffitithesky's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

Through the first half of this book, I was thinking, "This book will probably be a 4 or a 4.5 rating for me, it's good but there are a couple parts that are putting me off/triggering (

Deidameia with Patroclus, the descriptions of Peleus taking Thetis

)". But I finished the book and as you can see, it earned its 5 from me. Throughout the book, the storytelling of this well-known and oft-rewritten myth was done spectacularly well. As someone who knows both Homeric epics well, I could truly appreciate the foreshadowing Miller used throughout the novel (and dear god did I want to bawl just at the foreshadowing). The characters were given new life and personalities that made me feel even more attached to them, and it allowed the tragedy I knew was coming to hit me square in the jaw.

The depictions of Achilles' grief were poignant and devastating, the despair of Patroclus watching his philtatos suffer his death and unable to join him in death was heartwrenching.

Overall, this novel was fantastic, and I absolutely loved it. Now I'm going to go ice my eyes because they're still puffy after sobbing for an hour over this book.

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echolliot's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

4.25

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chrisljm'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? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Yeah I cried.

Madeline Miller is a beautiful writer and I did enjoy her retelling of this myth, but I didn't find it to be particularly remarkable.

I think the thing I found most puzzling was Patroclus' inclination towards saving women from being war trophies when this was very much a sociopolitical norm during this period in time. Of course that's not to say I wanted to see more scenes of women being brutalized or that it's impossible for there to be any person during this period to disagree with such practices, but I think when making the decision to have that be one of the main characters in this myth for the purpose of having a more likable protagonist, it becomes a story that lacks the social and cultural context of the historical myths by changing certain themes to fit modern sensibilities.

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mconroy9137's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

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