A review by b0r3d_2710_
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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

We were like gods at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.

What had Deidameia thought would happen, I wondered, when she had her women dance for me? Had she really thought I would not know him? I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; 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.

Oh god. These are beautiful!

After days of being deeply saddened over the ending, I think I should talk about my thoughts now. I think I am able to write about it now but the sadness still linger as I remember the words and the scenes. I was barely holding back my tears during the last 50 pages and when I was at the last page, I couldn't hold them anymore. That's when I actually cried. And I think I was a bit fine when I had just finished but as days went by and I kept remembering the scenes and read people's reviews, god it made me cry so much. This is the effect that this book had on me. I knew the myth already but I still hoped for them to survive and have a happy ending. But of course my hopes shattered and god I love that this book did that to me. It was not something that made me sob, it felt like a heavy, empty sadness. It felt like lost love and hope even though everything was doomed in the end.

It Was honestly one of the most beautifully written book. The writing style was luscious. It was gorgeous. I don't think I would give it 5 stars but 4 stars definitely didn't seem enough so yeah, 5 stars it is.

When Patroclus said that it looked like Achilles was chasing after himself because Hector was in his armour, that detail hurt because it was Achilles against the proud, arrogant version of himself that actually killed Patroclus.
Greed got the best of Achilles and he did things for his honour and fame that I can't accept but I can't believe (and I'm amazed) that Patroclus could love him despite all his flaws.


There was silence then, and I did not care about the damp pallet or how sweaty I was. His eyes were unwavering, green flecked with gold. A surety rose in me, lodged in my throat. I will never leave him. It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me. 

I was so in love with them and their relationship. It doesn't happen often, for me to be yearning for two characters to stay together until the end, actually even after the end. The way that they loved each other. See, the thing is we are told all the time that such and such characters are in love and would do anything for each other but in this book, we are shown. We are shown that they actually were willing to do anything for each other. Like the saying goes, Actions speak louder than words. Their wholesome scenes melted my heart and the way Achilles was determined to prioritize Patroclus before everyone (before the great war, of course), it was so endearing.


“You don’t think he will be angry?”He paused now, considering. I loved this about him. No matter how many times I had asked, he answered me as if it were the first time. “I don’t know.” His eyes met mine. “Does it matter? I would not stop.”


“Father, I do not see a place for Patroclus.” My blush went even deeper.
“Achilles,” I began in a whisper. It does not matter, I wanted to say. I will sit with the men; it is all right. But he ignored me.
“Patroclus is my sworn companion. His place is beside me.”

Also...

“Who is this man, Pyrrha?”“No one!” Deidameia had seized Achilles’ arm, was tugging at it.
At the same time, Achilles answered coolly, “My husband.”
I closed my mouth quickly, so I did not gape like a fish.


This Was funnier than it should have been.


And now, one of the most heartbreaking yet heartwarming scenes that I came across in this novel.

His eyes opened. “Name one hero who was happy.”
“You can’t.” He was sitting up now, leaning forward.
“I can’t.”
“I know. They never let you be famous and happy.” He lifted an eyebrow.
“I’ll tell you a secret.”
“Tell me.” I loved it when he was like this.
“I’m going to be the first.” He took my palm and held it to his. “Swear it.”
“Why me?”
“Because you’re the reason. Swear it.”
“I swear it,” I said, lost in the high color of his cheeks, the flame in his eyes.
“I swear it,” he echoed.

ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ

“Ah.” A sly smile spread across his face; he had always loved defiance.
“Well, why should I kill him? He’s done nothing to me.”

God, if only he knew. Oh my freaking heart! The things that hurt me more are these scenes foreshadowing the ending which I already knew and it looked like bits by bits, everything was being woven into a single thread, leading to their deaths but it still hurt so much. It hurts because it was inevitable.

Like almost every other reader of this novel, I never liked Thetis. But in the end, when she did 'that', oh my god. Just... just kill me already.

“I have done it,” she says. At first I do not understand. But then I see the tomb, and the marks she has made on the stone. ACHILLES, it reads. And beside it, PATROCLUS.
“Go,” she says. “He waits for you.”
IN THE DARKNESS, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.

Yep, I bawled my eyes out.