The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Just finished reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller this month. After reading some reviews on Barnes & Noble, I thought that I would post some thoughts here.

The theme of the story is Patroclus' relationship with Achilles and is told from Patroclus' point of view. We are given a behind the scene glimpse as to how they came to know each other during their youth, how they grew up together and their relationship during the Trojan War. This story plays upon the things that we know about from Homer's Illiad while enrichening the story with the details not included in the original. However, there is a surprising twist. Patroclus and Achilles are more than best friends, they are lovers. Unlike some of the Barnes & Noble reviewers, I was not put off by the homosexual element and thought that it only helped to reinforce their bond and show why Achilles was so distraught over Patroclus' death. The story ends with Thetis, she who hated Patroclus with a passion throughout the book, giving satisfaction to Patroclus by allowing him to be reunited with Achilles after his death. Strangely enough, she doesn't hate him because he is the reason Achilles dies. She doesn't even associate Patroclus with his death - Hector has that honor. Hector kills Patroclus, but she does not foretell that Hector will kill him.

Another twist is that the story about Achilles' vulnerable heel is entirely absent from The Song of Achilles and instead he dies with an arrow to his heart. The heel is mentioned in the character list, in Achilles' description as a variation to the story. I feel that this is one of the more well known themes in The Illiad that readers would look for and it was strange to leave it out.

Patroclus' voice as a lost soul continues to tell the story even after his death. It is interesting though that we do not hear anything of Achilles' voice. Patroclus tells us of Achilles conquers during the war and his grief and death wish. But when their ashes were mingled, interestingly Patroclus does not feel Achilles' presence.It is not until Thetis carves his name next to Achilles does he reunite with Achilles in the underworld and the souls are put to peace. At that point, there is no dialog but a feeling of extreme contentment and happiness when the two shades finally reunite.

I'm glad that the two are reunited at the end, but I found the last chapter a bit unsatisfying. Although the reason is never explained, Thetis hates him with a passion throughout the entire story . However, in the end, when he reminds Thetis of Achilles' life and that he was not just a killing machine, but also a human does she relent. It doesn't make sense that she shows Patroclus a bit of mercy at the end since she was always portrayed as a cold person. It just seems like an easy way to end the story.

As with any love story, there are a lot of emotions in this book. Fear of losing a loved one, both from Thetis' and Patroclus' perspective. Thetis fears her son's death and hides him with King Lycomedes on Scyros. Patroclus reluctance to go to war knowing that Hector's death will lead to Achille's own death.

The writing style was casual and easy to read. The story was interesting, but not grippingly so. I enjoyed reading about their relationship, but there was not much more to the story apart from that. I tend to like really descriptive books that immerse the reader in their world with rich detailed environments. This book was lacking in that quality. There were descriptions of the sea and the war, yes, but it wasn't quite immersive as some of the other books I've read.

I picked up the book during a Barnes & Noble nook special during LGBT Pride Month in June, so I had a suspicion that there were some homosexuality between Achilles and Patroclus in the story. However, I remembered that I liked The Iliad during my college days (my favorite translation being that of Robert Fitzgerald) and thought it might be interesting to reread through a different perspective. This was a good story and I'm glad that I read it. I rate it a 3 out of 5 for being a good story with a novel twist as well as a quick and easy read. If it was a bit more suspenseful in more of an "I-can't-put-this-book-down" kind of way, I probably would have given it a 4.