Review: THE SONG OF ACHILLES

Title: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Book Beginnings quote: 

My father was a king and the son of kings.

Friday56 quote:

I was at a loss. I knew nothing of how gods were made. I was mortal, only.

Summary: Madeline Miller's debut novel is a retelling of the Iliad story but with 21st Century sensibilities about love, war, politics, and heroism.

Patroclus, a minor prince/character in the Iliad and the narrator of The Song of Achilles, is banished by his father at age ten and sent to live in Phthia. In this new home he meets and befriends Prince Achilles. Over the years this friendship turns to love. When Achilles, the greatest warrior of his generation, is called to fight with the Greeks against the Trojans, Patroclus travels with him. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice. 

Review: When I was in junior high I fancied myself as a Greek Mythology fan. I'm guessing we read an abridged version of the Odyssey in class or something similar. My interest didn't lead to further reading, however, so all these years later I came to an Iliad story from the angle of a novice. The story was new and fresh to me. My husband and I listened to the audiobook, read by Frazer Douglas, and enjoyed it immensely. The pronunciation of names and places were all handled expertly. What we lacked was a complex list of the many characters, gods and heroes alike, to help us keep everyone straight in our heads. Not until I dug around the house and found the print copy loaned to me by my daughter, did I find what I needed to fill out the story: a character glossary, a gods and heroes illustrated closeup, and an interview with the author Gregory Maguire. 

In the interview with Maguire, Miller said she wrote the story because she wanted to give a voice to Patroclus, a character she thought of as an underdog. She never imagined the book as rewriting Homer. "Instead", she said, "I made the Iliad a fixed point on the horizon and wrote toward it."  All three tools helped me appreciate the book even more. In fact, I recommend listening to the audiobook but getting a copy of the print version to refer to as you listen.

Gregory Maguire ends his interview with Madeline Miller this way:

"Oscar Wilde said something like:"The Odyssey was written by Homer, or another Greek of the same name." But Oscar Wilde had clearly never met you yet. This is not a question. It is a salute.

Clearly he is a Madeline Miller fan, as am I!

My rating: 5 stars.

The Song of Achilles qualified for the 2024 Big Book Summer Challenge. I completed it before September 2nd and it is 408 pages long.

-Anne