fantasy, historical fiction, romance
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a retelling of the Iliad from the viewpoint of Patroclus, a minor character in the Iliad. It tells of his childhood, his exile, his great love, and his adult deeds including his part in the Trojan War.
I’m happy that my book club guided me to this novel. I enjoyed it! I’ve always liked Greek mythology. Patroclus made for an interesting narrator. His experiences were uniquely his and the reader gets to know him fairly well during the course of his life and travels. His relationship with Achilles was a special one, although we are never given much of an idea as to why Achilles was attracted to Patroclus. Perhaps it was simply physical. Achilles said he found Patroclus “surprising”. But that’s just about the only compliment that we are given from Achilles’ point of view. In any case, the two of them are loyal to each other, make a great team, and the inevitable ending feels sad.
The voice actor of the audiobook, Frazer Douglas, was really great. I think his narrating made me like the book even more than I might have otherwise! The tedium of the Trojan War made the book a bit slow at times, but I enjoyed the characters enough by that point that I was interested in keeping the momentum going.
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