The Song of Achilles

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Classical Age
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The Song of Achilles: A Novel
Author: Miller, Madeline
Buy at Amazon | BookShop.org

Time Period: Classical Age
Time Frame: 1200 BCE
Geographic Area: Europe
Country: Ancient Greece
Topics: Achilles, LGBTQ+
Genre: Mythology
Reading Age: Young Adult, Adult
Format: Novel
Published: 2012


Content Warning
sexual content

World History > Classical Age > Ancient Greece

“At once a scholar’s homage to The Iliad and startlingly original work of art... A book I could not put down.” —Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House

A thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War from the bestselling author of Circe

A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.

“Mary Renault lives again!” —Emma Donoghue, author of Room

Emily's Review

This book is just perfection. I am a sucker for Greek myth retellings and this is one of the best that I've read. The Song of Achilles is a beautifully written love story set in the midst of the Trojan War. Madeline Miller tells the story of Achilles and Patroclus from their boyhood through the events of the Trojan War. It is clear that Miller is passionate about the source material. I appreciated that she shows that theirs was not just a friendship but an unabashedly homosexual love affair. I cried my eyes out at the end of this story and I loved every second of it. Even though I knew what would happen - the story had me so sucked in that I was devastated. If you've never read a Homer retelling before, start here.

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