Date started: 05/02/2022
Date finished: 05/03/2022
Yes, it took me just one day to read this book. I am not usually a fast reader and am often whisked away by life’s commitments, but I loved this book so much that I took the day off to stay in bed and read all 360 pages of the ebook.
To start, I am not entirely familiar with Greek mythology, and in particular the details (and ending) of the Trojan War. That is why the book was such a moving experience for me; besides the absolute brilliant writing style and seamless dialogue, I was caught up teary-eyed in the storyline, not knowing how it would end. I read Circe before this book, and both books left an outstanding impression in me.
I do not particularly enjoy young adult books, especially romance books where the characters are overly dramatic in their feelings of extreme devotion and being unable to survive without one another, but this book is different because it is telling the story how it should be told; I have read about how other depictions of their story portrays them as friends, which sounds a bit far off from the truth. I mean, what kind of friends specifically request for their ashes to be buried mixed together?
Another point I enjoyed throughout the progression of the story is the portrayal of Achilles: the book starts with Patroclus’ constant fascination and cooing over Achilles’ perfection; his divine beauty, perfect features, and extraordinary skills. This does get a bit annoying at one point (this is my feeble attempt at giving criticism, a first for me) because it paints this picture of Achilles as some sort of flawless character. I understand he is the son of a Goddess, but it takes away from any personality of quirks he may have as a characters, and this can make him seems a bit distant as a character. The opposite of this is what I experienced with Patroclus; he was tender, weak, and sad yet he was a beautifully described character because we could see the human qualities very clearly and thus feel for him even more.
By the end of the book, when Achilles snaps and is caught up in his own pride, we get to see this obsessive, toxic side of him; imperfection. For me, this broke the trance of his utter perfection and inability to do no wrong. It gave his character life, and it was enough for me.
Perhaps the excessive fascination and awe described in Achilles is due to the fact that the story is narrated by Patroclus. The emotion described in this story was beautiful, so pure and passionate yet innocent (except for that scene in the cave when Chiron was asleep…). This book made me cry by the end because as I mentioned, I did not know what was coming, but overall it is definitely added to my list of favorites alongside Circe, and I am excited to see what else Madelline Miller will publish in the future.
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