“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.”
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 “I will never leave him. It will be this, always, for as long as he will let me.”
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This is the second book I read by Madeline Miller and , just as she did with Circe, she delivers a stunning retelling of ancient literature; which in the case is Homer's Illiad. Having been raised in Greece for a good amount of my school years I am always a tad more emotional and with somewhat higher expectations when I read such retellings that have been embedded in my childhood education and memory so starkly. With Miller's writing I can truly emerge into her words. I can taste the grapes, feel the sea breeze, smell the salty air and be carried away to Greece despite now living in the North. I can tell that she herself has been there, understood the culture and history of one my home countries and has an undeniable talent of writing these stories hundreds of years later with respect, mindfulness and a refreshing angle that dare I admit only makes the story better. The Song of Achilles is a book mostly character driven - it wasn't the most fast-paced, or action-packed. But it didn't need to be. It wasn't about that. Instead, it begins and ends with Patroclus' point of view and perspective whilst being alongside Achilles from his childhood until the Trojan War. We get to know about their relationship, their fears, emotions, strains, everything.
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I am glad I waited to read this one and did not indulge into it right after Circe. For me, this is one of the books I will think about for a while as I will be rewriting in my head the story I read when I was younger to the one I just finished reading. I cannot tell you if the same emotions and ways this book spoke to me will speak to everyone. I do not know how it is not to know the original story. But what I am sure of, is that if you are into character development and witnessing a relationship grow over a long period of time this is a book you should not avert your eyes from. Madeline Miller is talented, smart and has a way of lyrical writing that simply swayed me away.
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A 4.25 star read for me as I cannot help myself but compare it Circe which is still my favourite of the two and had even less action. But this author has won my heart again and will be undoubtedly reading more of her stories in the future.
This copy was borrowed from @bibliotekuppsala, one of my book heavens. I adored the fact that is was well read and now it is time for someone else to travel to ancient Greece with Miller.

I also used it for the Trope-ical Readathon prompt of ‘Blast in the Past’, for the Reading Women Challenge 2020 prompt of ‘Inspired by Folklore’ and lastly, for the Popsugar Reading Challenge prompt of ‘A book by an author with a flora or fauna in their name’.

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❌ 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐: murder, death, slavery, abduction, abandonment, torture, mention of rape, blood depictions, human sacrificing, physical violence, human trafficking, graphic mention of a plague, self-harm, child abuse, and war themes.

too difficult for me to read. maybe i will try in my mother tongue