Book Review: Song of Achillies by Madeline Miller

The legend begins…

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the kingdom of Phthia to be raised in the shadow of King Peleus and his golden son, Achilles. “The best of all the Greeks”—strong, beautiful, and the child of a goddess—Achilles is everything the shamed Patroclus is not. Yet despite their differences, the boys become steadfast companions. Their bond deepens as they grow into young men and become skilled in the arts of war and medicine—much to the displeasure and the fury of Achilles’ mother, Thetis, a cruel sea goddess with a hatred of mortals.

When word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, the men of Greece, bound by blood and oath, must lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

RATING:
4 Stars

I’ve been fascinated by Greek mythology since I was 13 years old, so naturally when I found out about this book, I want to read to it immediately, but I didn’t and for the life of me I don’t know why. This book is beautiful. Simply beautiful. It is like the author had read my mind and knew everything that I like about books in put it into one: vivid writing style with such a focus on sensual experiences, Greek mythology, romance and great characters.

“I could recognize him by touch alone, by smell; I 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.”

The pain, the anger, and the sorrow at the end forced me to stop reading and take deep breaths several times before I continued. I knew the fates of the characters beforehand, but no matter how much I tried to brace myself, the last few chapters still broke my heart in the best possible way.

“There is no law that gods must be fair, Achilles,”Chiron said. “And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone. Do you think?”

“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.”

Now excuse me while I go and stalk the author until she writes more books.