The Song of Achilles Book Review

---

After an unfortunate accident, prince Patrolcus is excited to the court of King Peleus; there he encounters his son Achilles and is instantly in awe of perfection. The two begin to develop a bond as they school together and grow up in each other’s company. As they grow older, they also grow closer and soon it becomes apparent that the two are inseparable. However the Trojan war is looming and Achilles must go and fight for Greece – but what will this war do to their relationship and more importantly with a deadly prophecy in the air, will they even survive?

If you love love, and love reading about love then READ THIS. Being Greek mythology it’s very dramatic and parts are utter nonsense (as is the nature of it) but I promise you, you will so invested in Patroclus and Achilles’ story. I adore books with atmosphere and this had such a visceral one. It’s not hard to convince me to like a romance but this was on another level, I could hardly put it down.

This story and their relationship was always going to be tumultuous and dramatic, but that coupled with Miller’s gorgeous writing made this book just breathtaking. I’m honestly struggling to even write this review because I’m just gushing so much! Okay let me attempt some coherent thoughts…

Miller’s version of this story is wildly different from Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls which tells the same story from another perspective and I’d highly recommend reading both of them to get both of these points of view. This one seems the human side of Achilles and it’s an interesting reflection of a fairly domestic relationship situated in awesome god-filled tales. In Barker’s book you see more of the God-like Achilles and it’s safe to say he is pretty unlikable.

Patroclus and Achilles are night and day – their personalities are so contrasting, but I think that’s what makes their relationship all the more alluring. Miller does a fantastic job of subtly building their relationship, but she doesn’t just stop at love, these two are quite incapable of thinking, breathing, existing without one another – they are soul mates, made inexplicably for each other.

As I said earlier, The Song of Achilles is one that shouldn’t be missed if you’re a fan of romance. Though some may argue it deviates from the original story too much, quite why that makes it any less entertaining is beyond me. And anyway, these are made up stories, I think it’s well within every creative’s mind to think up whatever tales or perspectives they wish!