Sometimes a book has so much promise and you expect too much, that’s The Song Of Achilles. I really, really wanted to love this book. It had everything that I wanted; drama, war, love, and mythology.

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I give The Song Of Achilles 2.5 Stars.

 

It’s a shame that I can’t give this novel more stars, however there were too many issues I found that left me feeling disappointed.

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You can read the Goodreads synopsis for The Song of Achilles HERE.

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I feel like I should give a disclaimer before starting this review, I am a harsh critic when it comes to anything fantasy or myth related.

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From page one you can see the craftsmanship of Madeline Miller’s writing. It is clear from the way she describes scenes that she is a talented writer; while reading the passages you become entrapped in this mystical world she has created. Within forty pages of the start we learn about the main character, Patroclus, his relations with his family and ultimately the reason he is exiled. This all happens in a short amount of time and is enjoyable to read, it does not feel rushed due to the woven in descriptions and carefully paced narrative. In spite of this, the rest of the events that take place in the novel seem to be prolonged and dragged out more than necessary. There are many times that I felt the story needed a push to propel it forward, the plot was at a standstill for almost the majority of the novel. This would have been forgivable if there was more substance concerning the characters, which brings me onto my next point.

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Patroclus and Achilles remained two dimensional throughout the novel; there was no character development, no depth to them, nothing in this story seemed to affect/change them. This is what made the novel hard for me to get through as I was constantly struggling to find a reason to care about either of them.

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Let’s start with Achilles. When we are introduced to him we are provided with an overhaul of adjectives which revolve around how amazingly perfect he is. This happens as soon as Patroclus sets eyes on him, he just becomes a list of perfections. I can forgive this at the start of the novel since Patroclus is young and has never experienced a crush before (we all know that one crush we thought was amazing and that they could do no wrong, right?) however, this doesn’t change – it never changes throughout the entire novel! Achilles remains perfect within Patroclus’s eyes even during a war. Even when he goes against Patroclus’s morals and opinions Achilles still remains perfect. How? To add to this, there is, at no point, a strong conflict between them which challenges their beliefs/morals/feelings. I think there was one scene, and it was over in a page. This is not how relationships work, even in a fantasy or mythical worlds. This left me feeling cheated, that it wasn’t real and none of it mattered because the characters were each defined by one characteristic – Achilles being perfect, and Patroclus lusting over him.

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I was being told what was happening and how I should feel rather than actually experiencing it for myself. It just made me feel nothing but frustrated, I was annoyed at the characters lack of conflict and their lack of personality.

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Possibly, I expected too much from this book which left me ultimately disappointed. I wanted a romantic, empowering and unique story about love that was challenged by war and the Greek Gods. A story that harnessed what made the myth of Achilles great and created a new spin on it. However, I didn’t find that within this story, which is a shame.

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