Genre: Historical Fiction, Mythology/Fantasy
My Review - 5 Stars
This is as good as everyone says. It’s a vivid and striking retelling of The Iliad, one in which Achilles and Patroclus are lovers. Their burgeoning relationship was so precious. We experience the story through Patroclus’s POV and he was quite different from what I was expecting. I’ve never read The Iliad so my familiarity with the story came from Pat Parker’s retelling The Silence Of The Girls. More on that later. In any case, Patroclus was an unusual hero. He leaves the fighting and glory largely to Achilles and stays in the camp as much as he can. He’s both proud and uneasy about Achilles’s exploits because of the prophecy surrounding when Achilles will die. This looms over all of their interactions.
Miller somehow manages to show the reality of war without romanticizing it, the way I understood the Greeks did. It’s bloody and violent and awful. There is a real toll both in the camp and on the battlefield. Achilles does not always behave admirably, particularly in what he allows to happen to Briseis. But this version of Achilles was much more palatable and I really liked how it touched on his sexuality and possible gender identity.
I really felt for Patroclus. He’s gone through heartbreaking circumstances and more heartbreak awaits him. The Greek myths do not have happy endings and I wanted this retelling to subvert that so badly. Alas. The ending made me weep. This is without a doubt one of the best retellings I’ve ever read. The story explores the idea of fate and identity in some interesting ways. I’m fascinating by Miller as a writer and the way she structured this story, as well as her interpretations.
Pat Barker’s The Silence Of The Girls is told from Briseis’s point of view so there are naturally going to be different interpretations. I could not stop comparing and contrasting the two books and thinking about the ways they interpreted the source material through their specific lens. In Silence, Briseis helps with healing. Here, it is Patroclus, who is not a warrior, unlike how he was depicted in Silence. We also get a different take on Briseis and on the poor treatment of women in general in Song. Song does not overly concern itself with its women, who are viewed as objects and property, and this was not always easy to read about.
I keep turning the story over in my mind. While I knew Patroclus and Achilles were doomed, I craved a happy ending. And in the absence of that, I still haven’t recovered, nor have I stopped wondering what might have been for these two men.
CW: murder, death of loved one, grief, slavery, abduction, abandonment, torture, mention of rape, human sacrifice, violence, human trafficking, plague, self-harm, child abuse, war
Synopsis
Achilles, "the best of all the Greeks," son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods' wrath.
They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.
Buy the book:
Amazon (affiliate link) | Barnes & Noble
