Even if you know next to nothing about Greek mythology, you probably know the name Achilles. The saying ‘Achilles’ heel’ is a common phrase in our everyday life, though many may not know the story behind it. I won’t spoil it, because where’s the fun in that, but I will tell you that it’s a tale of triumph and tragedy, of arrogance and war, of victory and defeat. And it’s been reimagined for a modern audience in Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles.
For those of you who don’t know, Achilles is a hero from Greek mythology who is said to have fought in the Trojan war. He was a demigod, the son of a king and a sea goddess. As a child, in an attempt to make him immortal, his mother held him by his ankle and dipped him in the river Styx. But, while this made the rest of his body invulnerable, his heel became his greatest weakness, thus explaining the phrase ‘Achilles’ heel’. In The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller takes an ancient tale, blows off the dust, and creates something entirely new. You don’t have to know anything about Greek mythology or history to become enraptured by this book; Miller weaves a plot that you can fall into, one that doesn’t require any prior knowledge to understand.
Before you brush The Song of Achilles off as another dense piece of historical fiction, one more akin to a history book than enjoyable novel, let me say this: while The Song of Achilles teaches you much about the Trojan war and they myth of Achilles, it is, above all, a love story. It is a romance for the ages, as captivating as it is heartbreaking. Even I, who generally doesn’t deal in romances, can say that The Song of Achilles is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.
The Song of Achilles is written in first-person, allowing the reader to gain a deep understanding of the two main characters, Achilles and Patroclus. Most of the book is in Patroclus’s point of view, who is both relatable and endearing. He’s a character you come to love, as you watch him grow across the course of the book. All of Miller’s characters are well-rounded, even the less-than mortal ones. Her metaphors and imagery will leave you shaking as they paint a powerful picture of the time period.
The Wall Street Journal names it ‘one of the best novel adaptations of Homer in recent memory’, while The Times describes it as a book that ‘carries the true savagery and chill of antiquity’. So, if you’re looking to immerse yourself in a world of love and heartbreak, of war and peace, of gods and mortals, there is no better book for you than Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles.
Works Cited
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). File:TheSongofAchilles.png - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TheSongofAchilles.png