AUTHOR- Madeline Miller
RATING- 🌟🌟🌟🌟
Alright, so I really like this book....like really, really like this book!! I thought the character work was amazing and getting to see past the perfection of the great warrior Achilles is very new. I thought that the climax was heartbreaking and the way the book finally ended tore me up even more.
I have never actually read the original Illiad or Aeneis and before this I never thought I would be interested in reading them, but now I think I might pick them up. But here is the thing- no matter how much we glorify the fact that a work has finally address Achilles' very non-straight relationship with Patrocles, the book admittedly has its flaws. Quite some of them apparently, according to a particular critic review of the the book. It brought some valid points to my mind.
So first of all, the narrative is slightly bumpy with the long time gaps not as seamless as we think which breaks the floor for he reader another thing was the lack of focus on quite a lot of important Historical events it felt like the book was just trying to take of each event one or two of them getting a barely a cursory three line mention.
Something that also might be a negative trait for some people is the tone of the book compared to the original Illiard (which I personally think we should not compare the two because they are from different genres and A Song of Achilles is essentially a retelling of the original), but what I'm trying to say is that A Song of Achilles carries a lot more younger tone since it is YA, but we can say that it has a mild case of purple prose and the transition and time gaps are not as seamless. It doesn't make the story any less impactful, but it does alienate itself from being appealing to a certain section of readers.
I personally liked it very much and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in that particular aspect of Achilles life. It is told in a more simplified, shortened and abridged way through the eyes of Patrocles.
Will you be picking up A Song of Achilles? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Reading!