"The Song of Achilles" by Madeline Miller

Publisher:New York : Ecco, [2012]
Edition:First edition.
Copyright Date:©2012
ISBN:9780062060617
Characteristics:378 pages ;,24 cm

The Song of Achilles is Madeline Miller's first novel (I reviewed her second "Circe"back on December 16th, 2019). It tells the story of Achilles and the first part of the Trojan War from the viewpoint of Patroclus, his friend and lover.

To tell a story such as this from the viewpoint of what is typically by most to be considered a secondary character is a great way to immerse the reader into a great story. The book takes us from the first meeting of the two men when they are quite young, and then their second meeting some years later after Patroclus has been exiled by his father for the accidental death of another boy who was bullying him.

We are then treated to a view of what ancient Greek civilisation was like and how the two men grew to be fast friends and soon thereafter lovers. The views of homosexuality in this book are treated very subtlety. What most people fail to realise is that homosexuality in the ancient world was accepted by many (if not most) as perfectly normal and it was quite typical for young boys to have male lovers until they reached puberty or slightly thereafter. There was no such thing as the rampant homophobia that can be encountered in certain places in today's world.

I found this book to be a great read and would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in mythology. I was first introduced to Madeline Miller's work via the podcast "Let's Talk About Myths, Baby" by Liv Albert, and I would definitely recommend that anybody who is even mildly interested in Greek and Roman mythology should check it out, as not only does it give a refreshing viewpoint, but Ms. Albert has a very interesting sense of humour that gives this show a boost.