The Song of Achilles

Rating Description:

1.0 - DNF/Despise

1.5 - Almost DNFed and wish I had

2.0 - Almost DNFed but had redeeming qualities/just boring

2.5 - Alright with lots of notes

3.0 - Alright with notes but I'm not raving about it

3.5 - Technically good but I'm not raving about it

4.0 - Love but with notes

4.5 - Love it so much I want to highlight the book but still with notes

5.0 - Love it so much I want to highlight the book and notes are very positive

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I know that The Song of Achilles is a well rated book but never had the urge to read it immediately. However, I saw a 1-star review that basically said that Patroclus was a “Bella” to Achille’s “Edward”.

As a person who has vowed to avoid anything resembling Twilight, I was disappointed because that meant the book was not something I’d like. But then I was intrigued. Can The Song of Achilles be that bad? How can it be rated that high but still have Twilight vibes?

I resolved to borrow it from my local library and find out for myself.

So, was it true that Patroclus was “such a Bella”? In a way, yes. But at the same time, no.

Patroclus was very much in love with Achilles. He followed c even when it was more convenient, and safer, for him not to do so. But his devotion was more understandable compared to Bella’s. The relationship between Patroclus and Achilles developed through time. This was not a high school crush that speed up from interest to full on obsession in a matter of weeks. There was also a clear advantage to being with Achilles. Patroclus was an exile. He was sent to be soldier for a king when he has no aptitude for it. His life would have been worse if he wasn’t with Achilles whereas if Bella wasn’t with Edward, her status in life wouldn’t have been altered at all.

As much as my opinion of this book is the opposite of that person, who inspired me to read this, I totally appreciated that review. It got me to check out this book. It also gave me a good laugh.

Now that we are done with whether or not Patroclus is like Bella, let’s move on to the rest of my thoughts on this.

Based on my rating, yes, I LOVE this book. Below are my reasons.

1.

As a person who loved reading Greek mythology as a kid, I appreciated the prose. It was very much in line with how I remember those stories were written.

2.

The characterizations were also, in my opinion, on point. Yes, a lot of the characters here were awful, awful people. Including Achilles. But, again, it was in line with how those characters were portrayed in Greek mythology. They were kings, princes, and/or demigods of an ancient time. Of course, they were filled with hubris and ambition with little to no regard of others.

3

The romance here was top notch. The romantic build-up between Patroclus and Achilles was very much the type that I love.

I am a firm believer that love stories are better received when the readers feel that aspects of that romance are something that they can experience themselves. It’s a lot easier to picture someone falling for your smile than someone killing a horde of monsters for you. And as much as Greek mythology is very removed from a casual life of modern times, there were enough non-epic, simple, and normal scenes between Patroclus and Achilles that made their love very real and relatable.

One such scene was in Chapter 15 - Page 182, where Achilles was telling Patroclus how much he likes Patroclus’ hair, chest, etc. while touching said body parts. That was probably the one of the best foreplay scenes I’ve read. And I say this as a person who has read a good number historical romance books. It was so romantic and goddamn hot.

I loved the romance here so much that I wanted to highlight passages in the book. Unfortunately, the copy I had was from the library. As such, I cannot deface it. However, I will share a couple of them here.

Chapter 10 - Page 102: It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me.

Chapter 15 - Page 183: I think: This is what I will miss. I think: I will kill myself rather than miss it. I think: How long do we have?

I do recommend listening to the audiobook while reading the book just to know how the places and names are pronounced.