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

For anyone with some vague familiarity with Greek mythology, we as readers know that Achilles and Patroclus will die. It takes a skilled author to tell a tale that has existed for over thousands of years in a new, beautiful, and interesting way, and Miller is such an author. There are also key points in the novel where I could tell she made very clear and intentional choices that added to the story.
For instance:

Writing the story in Patroclus's POV allows us to root for not only their love, but also Achilles himself,
especially when he becomes brutish (and a dishonorable asshole) in his grief towards the end
Maintaining that Iphigenia did not go willingly to her sacrifice (Ch. 18), to show how even the side we root for in the war are capable of brutality and are not to be trusted, further emphasizing how Achilles and Patroclus truly only have each other
Keeping things interesting through intense foreshadowing throughout the book, like
Patroclus's constant observations of Achilles's pink heels (already in Ch. 1!)
or
when Briseis calls Patroclus "Best of men. Best of the Myrmidons." (Ch. 28) after we learn of the new prophecy (Ch. 24)

Miller wields metaphor as if she's done so since birth because some of these lines she was seriously COOKIN shit up!!!!

"Achilles did not slur my name, as people often did, running it together as if in a hurry to be rid of it (Ch. 5)."
"I said his name... It blew through me; I was hollow as a reed hung up for the wind to sound" (Ch. 10).
"Did [Chiron] know, or only guess at Achilles' destiny? As he lay alone in his rose-colored cave, had some glimmer of prophecy come to him? Perhaps he simply assumed: a bitterness of habit, of boy after boy trained for music and medicine, and unleashed for murder" (Ch. 16). I MEAN C'MON A LITERAL ROSE-COLORED CAVE WHERE THEY LIVED OUT THEIR INNOCENT BOYHOOD ARE YOU KIDDING ME
"The only sound I hear is my own heaving lungs, air pumped into my chest and pushed from it. Hector's spear lifts over me, tipping like a pitcher. And then it falls, a spill of bright silver, towards me" (Ch. 30).
Hector wearing Achilles's armor and Achilles literally "chasing himself" (Ch. 31) because his hubris led him to chase fame... but also Hector, a killer to him but a hero to Troy. Sounds like someone we know????

This book devastated me and it's the best one I've read all year. It makes me want to write 5 different essays. A story about a love so sweet and a grief so deep. I'm so sad. I'm going to read fanfiction about Achilles and Patroclus reuniting in the afterlife now.

Content Warnings

davbat's review against another edition

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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? Yes

5.0

Extremely tragic, even more than you'd expect going into it with knowledge of the story. Time after time, Miller shows you what could have been if not for fate/pride/war. Extremely tragic doomed romance.

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caitlinspeachyreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I understand why there is such a hype around the genre of book but I struggled to connect with Achilles. Also the constant threat and statements of woman being SA’d really added to made the struggle to enjoy this.

Loved seeing a LGBT+ story being so well regarded. Wish I liked it more!

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zauet's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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keelymightread's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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el_wheel's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring 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

5.0

Madeline Miller is nothing if not a woman who can make me sob

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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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