Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

A well-known story offers a new perspective. New perspectives mean new ideas, triumphs, and secretary to the story. Song of Achilles, on the other hand, just told the same one.

Summary

Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles is an intimate, character‑driven retelling of the bond between Patroclus and Achilles, told entirely through Patroclus’s perspective. The story begins with Patroclus’s exile from his homeland and his unexpected placement in the court of King Peleus, where he meets Achilles — golden, gifted, and destined for greatness.

What starts as an uneasy friendship grows into a deep, transformative love as the two boys train under the centaur Chiron, learning medicine, music, and the quiet rhythms of life far from the expectations of kings. Their relationship becomes the emotional center of the novel, shaping how each boy understands loyalty, identity, and choice.

When the Greek kings call for war after Helen’s disappearance, Achilles is compelled by oath and prophecy to join the campaign. Patroclus chooses to follow him, not out of duty to Greece but out of devotion to Achilles. The novel traces their years at Troy through Patroclus’s eyes — not as a chronicle of battles, but as a study of character, love, and the cost of destiny.

As Achilles pursues the glory he was born for, Patroclus becomes the grounding force who sees the man behind the legend. Their intertwined fates move toward a tragic end, yet the novel lingers on tenderness, memory, and the enduring echo of their bond.

Rating 3/5

Honestly, I already knew the story enough as I had to study it in my college classes. It's been a profound use of heroism in the wrong places. Miller's call to writing this gives her a one-star rating, but what about the rest?

It wasn't impactful, but simply good writing from a perspective not known before. Typically, we want stories from the hero's point of view, but not this one. Patroclus's POV about Achilles and how their love grew with one another was ... for lack of better terms... off the charts.

I found nothing new about the story which I think deterred me from actually enjoying. Two stars.

I had no annotations, which typically come from moments I've enjoyed, plot twists, and even emotions I felt, but Song of Achilles didn't have anything like that for me.

Overall, I was pretty disappointed that there wasn't anything new I could learn; which I graciously gave it the third star.