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WARNING: THIS POST HAS MANY SPOILERS FOR THE BOOK "THE SONG OF ACHILLES!"
To be honest, I knew this book existed since... 2021, I think? I saw literally all LGBTQ+ content makers recommending it in their "X books with gay representation" lists and telling it worth your attention. At first, I was skeptical about “The Song of Achilles” - I already had, to put it mildly, bad experience with LGBTQ+ literature since for that time, I had read around 8 books (one dilogy, one trilogy, comics, and a few stand-alone books) with gay representation, but I only liked 2 of them. Onky after a long time, I decided to give TSOA a chance. And I have no regrets.
Patroclus relives his memories since his birth. The further the story goes, the more he remembers: his family, Helen who chose Menelaus, dead friend, exile, meeting with Achilles, falling in love, first accidental kiss, Thetis, Achilles' mother, who hated him, their teacher Chiron, growing love for Achilleus, the begging of Trojan War, hiding his beloved from the war, coming to Troy, staying in the camp, saving Briseis, promise to his love, the best of all the Greeks, and Hector, his murderer... But his last thought is Achilles. His loved one learns about Patroclus' death and takes revenge, dying. And in the end, Thetis, staing on her son's grave, lets Patroclus go and see Achilles the underworld.
I loved the atmosphere of the book — it is immediately clear that Madeline Miller was interested in the book and the world she wrote about. I googled about characters and their relationships, and it's all true (maybe, except for Thetis hatred of Patroclus; I couldn't find the information about this). These are small details, but it's nice to see how autors pay attention to them. Romance between two main characters was amazing, and I took several notes. :)
And about the end... Even if I didn't cry physically, my soul was in hysterics. How that was beautifully written. How heartbreaking it was seeing Achilles lying down next to the dead body of his loved one, and Patroclus, who had no voice and body to help him, calm down and wipe away the tears. They met again in the underworld, and my soul couldn't calm down for a long time.
I read this book in 3-4 days. It's my only book which has no creases I accidentally made (this always happens to me when the book has thin bound), no pencil highlighting (because I loved everything there), no stickers... no one of these. My bookmark was a bill from the store where I bought "The Song of Achilles," and I never changed it. This book has no my trace. Perhaps there are only slightly yellowed pages from mine. And I still can't believe it's the end. 352 pages were not enough for me. Maybe one day I'll reread it again, but stretching out the pleasure. But... I loved it a lot and just couldn't put it down and stop. I'm excited, and I recommend "The Song to Achilles" to everyone. Just please... read it slower. :)
To be honest, I knew this book existed since... 2021, I think? I saw literally all LGBTQ+ content makers recommending it in their "X books with gay representation" lists and telling it worth your attention. At first, I was skeptical about “The Song of Achilles” - I already had, to put it mildly, bad experience with LGBTQ+ literature since for that time, I had read around 8 books (one dilogy, one trilogy, comics, and a few stand-alone books) with gay representation, but I only liked 2 of them. Onky after a long time, I decided to give TSOA a chance. And I have no regrets.
Patroclus relives his memories since his birth. The further the story goes, the more he remembers: his family, Helen who chose Menelaus, dead friend, exile, meeting with Achilles, falling in love, first accidental kiss, Thetis, Achilles' mother, who hated him, their teacher Chiron, growing love for Achilleus, the begging of Trojan War, hiding his beloved from the war, coming to Troy, staying in the camp, saving Briseis, promise to his love, the best of all the Greeks, and Hector, his murderer... But his last thought is Achilles. His loved one learns about Patroclus' death and takes revenge, dying. And in the end, Thetis, staing on her son's grave, lets Patroclus go and see Achilles the underworld.
I loved the atmosphere of the book — it is immediately clear that Madeline Miller was interested in the book and the world she wrote about. I googled about characters and their relationships, and it's all true (maybe, except for Thetis hatred of Patroclus; I couldn't find the information about this). These are small details, but it's nice to see how autors pay attention to them. Romance between two main characters was amazing, and I took several notes. :)
And about the end... Even if I didn't cry physically, my soul was in hysterics. How that was beautifully written. How heartbreaking it was seeing Achilles lying down next to the dead body of his loved one, and Patroclus, who had no voice and body to help him, calm down and wipe away the tears. They met again in the underworld, and my soul couldn't calm down for a long time.
I read this book in 3-4 days. It's my only book which has no creases I accidentally made (this always happens to me when the book has thin bound), no pencil highlighting (because I loved everything there), no stickers... no one of these. My bookmark was a bill from the store where I bought "The Song of Achilles," and I never changed it. This book has no my trace. Perhaps there are only slightly yellowed pages from mine. And I still can't believe it's the end. 352 pages were not enough for me. Maybe one day I'll reread it again, but stretching out the pleasure. But... I loved it a lot and just couldn't put it down and stop. I'm excited, and I recommend "The Song to Achilles" to everyone. Just please... read it slower. :)
