I honestly thought I was going to dislike this book simply because it's been so overly hyped but man was I wrong. I absolutely loved this even though it broke me. I'm still ( )

Not exactly what it was hyped up to be but was still quite enjoyable.

Reading the way Patroclus and Achilles met and grew closer over the 18 years was quite interesting because they quite literally went through everything and still ended up together.

Didn't expect Thetis finally accepting Patroclus in the end tho but I’m glad she did. ( )

"What has Hector ever done to me?"

I think this was the line in the book that really got me. The latent foreshadowing in this question is so incredibly powerful, and encapsulated so much of what makes the Achilles and Patroclus relationship such an engaging perspective through which to tell the story of the Trojan War. We know Achilles will die, but it's not because he kills Hector; it's not Achilles dying that kills Patroclus, it's Patroclus dying that kills Achilles; the one that hopes Achilles will live for longer is the one that brings his demise faster - and at the crux of that is that love which continues past death.

4.5 is my actual rating for this book. This was a masterful retelling of the Trojan War. For a tale that's almost as old as time, Miller has done a wonderful job of bringing Patroclus and Achilles to life in a way that connects with the modern society and reflects the timelessness of Homer's epic. As a casual ancient scholar, I greatly appreciated all the many ways in which Miller engaged with her source material, from the manifold nuances of the book’s name, to the special selection of scenes like Phoinix’s storytelling and Priam’s ransom of Hector’s body, and down to individual character descriptions like Hector standing with his feet like roots driving deep into the soil. This homage to Homer, combined with the uniquely humane perspective of the characters which is rather more difficult to grasp in an epic poem, made the book a very enjoyable read.

The reason I couldn’t quite give this a five star rating was that the intensity of the focus on Patroclus and his connection to Achilles sometimes detracted from the sense of realism which I expected a more down to earth and human perspective of the story would bring. For instance, Patroclus seems so completely unremarkable at the start of the book that Achilles’ sudden decision to choose him as his companion is almost silly. I understand it works as a great set up to pair the most unlikely candidate with the greatest of Greeks, only for him to become the true Aristos Achaion, but it did seem a little forced, especially as Patroclus, though never Achilles’ equal, is usually not seen as incapable. Also, I would have liked to see more of how the 10 year length of the war impacted both the soldiers and the characters. Admittedly, the story is Achilles and Patroclus focused, and there is also far less source material for the first nine years, but I thought this would have been the perfect place for Miller to exercise some creative licence and develop Achilles and Patroclus’ relationship with each other and with the other Greek characters more progressively, rather than in vignettes rushing into the denouement.

Ultimately though, these are minor and personal quibbles with an expressive and evocative story told in clean yet emotive prose, and as a self-professed connoisseur of ancient historical fiction, this book stands undoubtedly as one of the highlights of the genre. ( )

I read Madeline Miller's "Circe" last year and completely adored it, and that pushed me to finally pick up this book. I was truly expecting to love it totally but I think (especially compared to "Circe") it just wasn't as jaw-droppingly wonderful as I was expecting. The beginning third of the novel was my favorite as the world unfolds and we get a pretty narrowed in look at Patroclus and then Achilles. Those were the moments I felt like their relationship was best because we as the reader got to see them learning about each other and their places in the world together. Also, the portions with Chiron were very engaging and I found myself wishing we had more of those lyrical, mythical moments.

Then I felt like the book began jumping around quite a bit and the pacing got a little awkward. For instance, the sort of sideplot about Achilles briefly going into hiding felt almost totally disconnected from the story as a whole and I can't see how it added much to the story. Then everything becomes a loooong war story, and the next 10 years fly by pretty quickly, with us getting only small bits of information. There is fighting, death, an immature king, but it all felt a bit lacking? I think some of these scenes could have been rewritten to further develop the relationship between Patroclus and Achilles and REALLY make me feel for them; Achilles felt so distant and petulant most of them time that it was difficult for me to care about him. I enjoyed Patroclus, but his every thought is about Achilles, so again, it was difficult for me to get invested when I didn't care about a major character.

I'll also note that I listened to this on audiobook, which I don't do very often simply because I like seeing the words more. The narrator of this book (Frazer Douglas) was not good. His voices for both Achilles and about three different side characters sound exactly alike, and I had trouble differentiating them when it wasn't explicitly written who was talking. Also every female voice Douglas is laughable and sounds like a cartoon voice. So there is the chance that I might have liked this better in print.

It's definitely not a bad book by any means! I can see why a lot of people enjoy it, and there were portions I liked, too. It's just not my favorite and I think it's a tad overhyped. If there had been less long portions of war talk and more magic or character development I would have liked it more, but that happens a lot in "Circe" so I'll just plan on reading that again in the future. :) ( )

Spoilers!!!

My friend told me they tore the last pages out cuz they hated the ending due to it being "extremely homophobic" (their words). Had me intrigued, so I read the book. Got close to the end and thought, sure it's sad, but not that sad. Then I read the last chapter. The F-ing audacity! That lil shit! Glad he died. Understand my friend now. ( )