The Song Of Achilles

The Song of Achilles takes the most famous story in Western literature and makes it feel completely new and alive. The choice to tell it through Patroclus is inspired. We see Achilles through loving eyes and the portrait that emerges is both magnificent and heartbreaking. Miller writes with extraordinary grace. The battle scenes are visceral and the quieter moments of tenderness are equally powerful. This is literary fiction of the highest order. One of the great novels of our time.

I knew how this story ended before I opened the book and it still destroyed me completely. That is the mark of extraordinary writing. Miller makes you love these characters so deeply that the inevitable tragedy is genuinely devastating. The relationship between Patroclus and Achilles is rendered with such tenderness and passion. The Greek setting is vividly brought to life. The Song of Achilles is a masterpiece. I have gifted this to every reader I know and all of them have wept and thanked me.

Few books have made me feel as intensely as The Song of Achilles. The love story at its heart is told with such quiet beauty that the emotional impact sneaks up on you and hits like a wave. Miller's prose is genuinely exquisite. I read this slowly to savour it and still finished feeling like I had been through something significant. The mythological world is rendered with complete conviction. A perfect novel by any measure. Highly, highly recommended to every reader.

a quick read with a heart wrenching story.

Madeline Miller has done something extraordinary with The Song of Achilles. The story of Patroclus and Achilles is told with such lyrical beauty and emotional depth that it feels like reading something sacred. I was completely undone by the final pages. The prose is luminous throughout and the emotional intelligence Miller brings to these mythological figures makes them feel utterly and painfully human. This is the most beautiful book I have read in years. Absolutely essential reading.