The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Greece in the age of heroes. Awkward young prince Patroclus has been exiled to the court of King Peleus. Despite their differences, Peleus’s golden boy Achilles befriends the shamed prince. As they grow into young men, their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles’s mother, the sea goddess Thetis.

But when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, Achilles must go to war in distant Troy and fulfil his destiny. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus goes with him.

The Song of Achilles follows Patroclus and Achilles from when they are boys to when they are men at war in Troy. Achilles’s story is told through Patroclus’s eyes, who everybody views as an unlikely companion for the beautiful prince.

If, like me, your knowledge of Greek mythology is hazy then fear not, as Miller explains the characters as they appear throughout the book. It’s perhaps even an advantage not to know exactly how Achilles’s story ultimately ends – even though you might reach a point in the book where you can guess what is coming, the book maintains the suspense right until the final chapters.

My main criticism of this book is that most of the characters are not portrayed as especially complex. It’s easy to tell from the language used to describe each of them whether they are supposed to be ‘good’ or ‘bad’, and I felt at times that this was a little simplistic.

That said, Achilles’s character is much more developed. He is seen as perfect through Patroclus’s eyes, and Patroclus is reluctant to acknowledge Achilles’s flaws as his perspective is so clouded by his love for Achilles. Those flaws are much clearer to the reader than they are to Patroclus, despite us receiving the story only through Patroclus as the narrator.

That is not to say that Patroclus is flawed because of his blinkered love for Achilles. Unlike other mythical heroes, Patroclus and Achilles are steady and stable in their love throughout their lives, even in the face of war or vehement opposition from Thetis, and they remain loyal to each other right to the bitter end. I think that’s pretty remarkable.