The Song of Achilles

Hovering between 3.5 and 4.

Patroclus is born a prince, the unloved and neglected son of King Menoetius. He eventually becomes fostered by King Peleus, and becomes good friends and eventually lovers with Peleus's son, Achilles, prince of Phthia. But Achilles has a fatal prophecy hanging over his head, and war between the Greeks and the Trojans is looming over the horizon.

I've recently read Circe also by Madeline Miller, and the tone of the storytelling in this one is very similar. It's got the same simple folklore storytelling vibe. This is especially evident in the first few chapters when we witness Patroclus's childhood and his insignificance to his parents, which strongly resembles the first few chapters of Circe and her childhood as the daughter of a Titan.

The advantage of such a writing style, however, is that it's very, very easy to read and very accessible. It definitely contributed to how quickly I finished this book - the narration went on smooth like butter. The disadvantage, I would argue, is that it dampens the vividness of the main character from whose POV we are witnessing the story. While you may know Patroclus pretty well by the end of the book, you don't feel very attached to him.

I also thought that I knew Achilles's mythology but it seems like I may either have been wrong or Miller had respun the famous narrative. I definitely don't recall anything about Patroclus dying before Achilles, and that Achilles had been struck by an arrow through the chest rather than at the heels as I would've thought at first. I like, however, that Miller never makes it a secret that Achilles was going to die, which is a turn of events that most people going into this would probably already know. Because most people already know this, you don't actually spend the entire book feeling like you already know what's going to happen at the end. Instead, by acknowledging it, Miller makes readers guess how it's going to happen, and whether it will happen as per their expectations.

There were some points in the book that legit got me on the edge of my seat. A good half of this book takes place in the Greek war camps while they are actively at war, and Miller doesn't shy away from the ferocity and gruesomeness of death. Whether in terms of human sacrifices for the gods, or how captured women are treated as slaves, the violence that it shows and implies can be pretty discomfiting. The bit that got me most on edge was when Briseis was essentially taken hostage by Agamemnon in an effort to make Achilles bow down to him, and the thought of her getting raped and worse was just so, so horrifying, especially since we have had time to get attached to her from Patroclus's POV.

Though the book could get a bit uncomfortable to read at some parts, I really enjoyed the chemistry that we see building up between Achilles and Patroclus. It never felt so much like insta-love. I enjoyed seeing both the build-up and the downward spiral it had momentarily when Achilles became too arrogant and hot-headed for his own good. I was definitely on Patroclus's side when Achilles was willing to let Briseis be taken by Agamemnon and raped just so that he could have an excuse to move against the king. I loved seeing how Achilles's character arc in that sense, how he went from being a regular, happy boy to being put on a pedestal and gaining hubris because of that, becoming ruthless over the sake of his honour like the men he used to despise.