Review: The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller

This is probably my favourite book I have read so far this year. Obviously it came with a bit of an advantage - a retelling of Troy for a graduate of Classical Civilisation is a no-brainer. But this book still managed to blow my expectations out of the water.

Madeline Miller reportedly spent ten years researching and writing this book, and it shows. It is a retelling of the story of Achilles but from Patroclus' perspective. In the film adaption (it still haunts me), Patroclus is portrayed as a close friend/cousin without even a hint of homosexuality.

This book goes back to the source material and it is just a little different from the film...

Patroclus is a disgraced and outcast prince, after having accidentally killed a nobleman's son. He gets sent as a foster child to King Peleus, the father of Achilles. Already, Achilles' divinity is well-known and the prophecies about him are greater still. Patroclus thinks he will get lost amongst this palace of foster boys, and isolates himself when the other boys find out about Patroclus' past. However, Patroclus manouvres himself to become protected by Achilles, and a friendship - and, when they're older, more than that - blooms.

This is the classic of all classic tales beautifully updated for the modern reader without losing any of the essence that has meant it has lasted for thousands of years. Miller is a true mistress of her prose, with luscious imagery of the islands and city-states that make up Greece, to the dry, sandy, and soon hellish (for the Greeks, at least), land of Troy. Familiar characters like Chiron, Odysseus, Menelaus, and Agammemnon are faithfully rendered in all of their heritage, and then some.

But the relationshp between Patroclus and Achilles, the heart of this story, shines throughout. Patroclus is the steadier of the two men, knowing he has to compete with Achilles' fame and changing character, particularly when they get to Troy - and the famous feud with Agammemnon.

This story is everything you would hope from a modern version of one of the most famous legends of antiquity. Miller has done an exceptional job.