The Song of Achilles, written by Medeline MIller, is a book about the love between Patroclus and Achilles as they go through the hardships of their families and the Trojan War. The two are total opposites, as Achilles is a prince who everyone loves and considers a god, while Patroclus is a prince whose parents hate and in the end, leave to be an orphan. This book was written to tell the story of Achilles from his lovers eyes, this is because it can show a side of Achilles that no one knows of, a more soft side of a warrior. Patroclus main purpose is to keep Achilles's humanity with him, and not let war consume the man he loves. I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars because of its characters and their relationships, the world building, and lastly the theme.
We start off by meeting Patroclus, son of Menoetius and a princess. As soon as he is born, he becomes the disappointment of the family because he is weak at everything (unlike the rest of the kids). His father eventually gets to his breaking point, and exiles Patroclus from the family at a very young age to Phthia. Patroclus lives in the castle of Peleus, where other orphan kids like him live. Here he meets Peleus's son, Achilles. At first, Patroclus is a bit shy to talk to Achilles, but eventually they two meet and become best friends. As the years go by, Achilles shows how much he cares for Patroclus, becoming the first person to ever love Patroclus this way. This immediately makes Patroclus fall in love with Achilles, and the same things happens to Achilles as he falls in love with Patroclus. Eventually though, Thetis (a goddess and mother of Achilles) finds out Achilles has been hanging out too much with Patroclus, and also is scared of Achilles being involved with the rising war. She takes the decision to take Achilles far away where he can be thought by Chiron ( a half human, half horse man who has though many strong men in the past). This breaks Patroclus, and he decides to leave the castle because there is now no meaning in staying there is Achilles is not with him. Eventually, after running hours and hours, he meets with Achilles and Chiron. Chiron accepts him as his student, and both Achilles and Patroclus are now together again (YEAHHH).
Chiron teaches Patroclus medicine, and tries to teach them how to fight (which doesn't happen for long). Eventually, the two boys became into men, and Peleus called Achilles to return to the castle again. Achilles takes Patroclus hand, and makes sure to let people know that they are together, and wherever Achilles goes, Patroclus will be right with him. A couple of things happen (which we will skip because this would get way much longer. sorry.) Achilles is asked to join the way with Odysseus, king of Ithaca. Achilles says yes, as his honor is on the line, and Patroclus goes with him. The two boys go to Troy, where Patroclus stays in camp, and Achilles goes to raid. As the raids keeps happening, the cam becomes much and much stronger, making itself into a small village. Patroclus also meets Briseis, a girl who was found by the raids, and Achilles took as his war prize because Patroclus did not want Agamemnon to take her. Briseis becomes the woman to help girls around camp, and Patroclus becomes known as a guy who helps around. He learns everyone's names and everything that is happening around camp, which surprises Achilles a lot (after all, when they first met, Patroclus was shy and wasn't able to speak to anyone). Patroclus helps with the medicine, and doctors. Eventually, Agamemnon and Achilles start a dispute, which leads to Achilles leaving the war and cursing the camp with his mother. Patroclus tells him to stop because millions of Greeks will die then because of his stupid honor. But Achilles disagrees with Patroclus and continues the curse. This leads to many soldiers dying, and Briseis in possession of Agamemnon, which makes Patroclus more desperate. Eventually, Hector (a strong Trojan warrior) arrives, and with the limited amount of Greek soldiers, Patroclus goes out dressed as Achilles to distract Homer and let everyone scape. Achilles (at first) says no to this idea, but eventually gives in because it's better THAN RUINING HIS HONOR!!! And so Patroclus runs as fast as he can which makes everyone follow him. This ends up in tragedy, and Patroclus ends up getting killed by Homer. His body is returned back to Achilles, who cries and cries non stop next to his lover's body. Patroclus is forced to watch Achilles suffer because he is a soul and can't go to the underworld until he is buried. Achilles holds him, and walks his body. Sleeps with him, and then cries again, not letting Patroclus soul rest. Achilles takes revenge for Patroclus death, and kills Hector. This leads to Hector's brother, Prince Paris, to take revenge on his brother and eventually kill Achilles. Achilles's last wish is to be burried with Patroclus, and his name to be with him so their souls can rest together. But once Achilles and Patroclus's ashes are burried together, the tomb only shows Achilles name meaning that no one knows Patroclus is there too, and not letting Patroclus's soul rest again. Until Thetis, the one who desperately wanted Achilles to separate from Patroclus, writes his name next to Achilles letting Achilles and Patroclus meet again in the underworld.
What I love the most about this story is how much the author goes into detail about every place Achilles as Patroclus are. She makes sure to mention the beautiful sunset, the quiet days, the blue skies and seas. I love the way Madeline Miller writes about environments, because it makes me create a whole movie in my head as I read the book. She also describes the characters really well. I am able to imagine Patroclus holding Achilles hand, or Achilles putting his uniform on.
The writting was easy to read, and I could feel the emotion in every page. For example, in the last paragraph, where it says: "In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. They hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the son." (page 369). I can FEEL both of Achilles and Patroclus's souls trying to reach each other, and once they do, they are finally completed and full of love. THIS BURNS MY HEART WITH HAPPINESS, and I can promise you that this book has made me cry just like Circe (why Miller, WHYY??) But this only shows how much emotion she is able to show in her writting, that being a small sentence, or a whole book. I also LOVED the transition is Achilles and Patroclus relationship. In the beginning, Patroclus went to Achilles for help, because he was shy and unable to take care of himself. But in the end of the book, we can see how much character development Patroclus had, now that Achilles is the one going to Patroclus for help while the war is happening. They both grew stronger in their own ways, but this lead to Achilles becoming a bit obsessed over his honor. Lastly, the way Madeline Miller was able to explain the theme in this story was beautiful. She was able to add multiple themes in this story, like keep trying no matter what anyone says, or love is stronger than war, or honor is not something we should value more than the people we care. And she lets you, the reader, pick which ever theme you like more. She never straight forward says anything, and doesn't add her own comments to the writting which lets you choose your own opinions on the book.
Overall, I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars because of the relationships with each character being described in detail, like the love of Achilles and Patroclus. As well as the hate relationship between Thetis and Patroclus, and the curse of Hector and Achilles, etc. The amazing world building of Madeline Miller by explaining the setting in detail making you imagine each scene as you read. And lastly, the variety of themes this book has, which lets you the reader pick what you want to get out of this book, or what you learned thanks to this book. PEOPLE, READ THIS BOOK! I am telling you, the amount of emotional roller-coaster I went with this book is wayyy to much. Just like Circe, I enjoyed every part of this book until the very end, the story never felt dragged out, and everything mentioned mattered a lot. And if you love two romantics trying to be with each other in the middle of war, this book is just for you.
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