The Song of Achilles

This book is pure love, emotion, and a deep study in the psyche of the entire spectrum of humanity really, told in such gentle it evocative prose, that it will linger in my thoughts for a long while

It's a Good book

I finished this book on my way home from a long day at work. Tired eyes, after a day of sitting in front of the computer, refused to give up. Neither did my heart as I flipped page after page to finish reading this absolutely marvelous book by Madeline Miller. Based on the tragic epic of Troy, this book sings of Achilles and Patroclus, two young boys, one a legend and one merely his lover, caught in the whirlwind and tragedy of their times. You don't read such books in sultry weather and crowded trains; no, you read them lain on the grass, beneath a sky full of stars, moths and butterflies flickering around even as the bonfire sends sparks up the balmy evening air. Oh well, I wasn't fortunate enough so I took what I had and breezed through this book, squeezed among fellow passengers."We were like gods, at the dawning of the world, and our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other."Oh what it feels like to be in love and to read of such innocent love. They were hardly boys and their were living the best days in the summer of their lives. Achilles, strong but vulnerable, son of a God and born to die a hero. Patroclus, a cast away exile from a royal family, hardly a warrior but filled with sweet, generous love and lost in the winding pathways of life. Their love is like the changing of seasons; bright as summer one moment, cold as winter the other. Their jealousy is real and one can't but see them in bliss forever.Madeline Miller says it took her 10 years to finish this book and I can imagine so. It is poetic and beautiful, as heartwarming as spring and as visible as the trees that change colors. She sings of a tender love, one that bloomed on the peak of Mount Pelion as two young boys learned the lessons of life under the watchful gaze of the centaur Chiron. Days are spent learning to fish and hunt; nights lazed around under a canopy of stars. Friendship and love was born in lakes that flowed with clear, sparkling water and around nighttime hearths in darkened caves. Two young boys, one a God, the other a mortal, with nothing but life ahead of them.Life though wakes you up just when you think blissful sleep would grace your eyes and take you to a world where innocence fills the air with abundance. And so it is here. Achilles' vengeful Goddess mother Thetis forever lurks in the background, a dark sea-nymph who abhors her son's relationship with a mere mortal, a simple nobody, even as she carries around her more than a whiff of bad omen. And the omens come true faster than one can imagine. Helen, the wondrously beautiful wife of Menelaus of Sparta, elopes with Paris, their thirstful lust setting off a war that destroys a generation. Royal messengers ride away to all of Greece as Menelaus and his brother, Agamemnon, assemble an army that, at the time, was one of the greatest on all earth. A thousand ships, as the bards liked to sing, sailed to Troy, one gigantic armada and all for one man's wife who chose to abandon him to the charms of Paris.Word reaches Achilles and Patroclus too, for Achilles was born on this earth to be the greatest of all heroes. He and he alone could defeat Hector, the best of Troy. But the fates sing a cruel song and in his glory also lies tragedy. Achilles may choose to be a hero and all the Gods and the men knew he would be one but in his choice he would also face certain death for the prophecies never lie. Tied with Hector is his own fate. Tied to his heart is his love for Patroclus. What does his choose? An everlasting love or tragic glory? Patroclus tries of course. Tries to steer the way to love. Oh does he try, poor Patroclus, the simple soul who wanted nothing but Achilles."The never-ending ache of love and sorrow. Perhaps in some other life I could have refused, could have torn my hair and screamed, and made him face his choice alone."In the end glory wins over love and Achilles sails for Troy and Patroclus sails with him, their young love a glittering shimmer left behind on Mount Pelion. This is a book that sings of young love but it is also one that speaks of war and philosophy. Wars have been fought over land, over love and over pride. All three may seem flimsy when the consequence is a field littered with dead bodies and rivers turning crimson. And yet war carries beneath it, a deep philosophy and lessons, moral and tangible. The war of Troy would be no different. What for instance would motivate men to leave behind their families and sail on a voyage from which there was almost certainly no return? Why would they fight for another's wife? This is where war commanders come in. War perhaps teaches more on leadership than anything else and this war is no different."Success in such a war as this comes only through men sewn to a single purpose, funnelled to a single spear-thrust rather than a thousand needle-pricks."But this war beckons fame for Achilles and he drinks it, eagerly, a touch greedily. It suits him, to stand tall amongst men, lean and muscular, unbelievable strength in his limbs, as he looses spear after spear and watches them sluice men a mile away. He is a God amongst men, born only to bask in everlasting glory. Where he was vulnerable and simply in love before, now he is a man whose summer of life was cut short. He is not cruel but neither his he hesitant to kill men. Where does this leave Patroclus? Does their love still stand a chance in this miasma of rotting bodies and drying blood?"It was that moment, perhaps, that our lives changed. Not before in Scyros, nor before that still, on Pelion. But here, as we began to understand the grandness, now and always, that would follow him wherever he went. He had chosen to become a legend, and this was the beginning. He hesitated, and I touched my hand to his, where the crowd could not see it. ‘Go,’ I urged him. ‘They are waiting for you.’"But a man on war would always leave behind a void in his companion's life. And in this void stepped in Breseis. Good, sweet Breseis, a slave of war under the protection of Achilles. The long, tiring years of war brought closer Patroclus and Breseis and as much as I loved the song of Achilles and Patroclus, I wanted to also experience the song of Patroclus and Breseis, It would, I was sure, be as beautiful. But war is tragic, much as the bards like to claim other wise and tragedy encased its cold arms around our heroes. Miller takes her novel on a cliff, all glory and bliss, and then pushes it down. At first, it rolls down gently, merely seeking to swat aside those who stand before it but then assumes a greater momentum, crushing those whose defiance was stronger. From a tale of innocence and sweet vulnerability, it become this haunting song of pain and sorrow. My heart wept for Achilles and Patroclus and Breseis. Three souls lost in the graveyard of life. Warm hearths brought them close together, their story an ode to a soulful companionship. Wild fires of battle tore them apart. I clung on to faint hope, the hopeless romantic that I am. But that hope flickered away like the dying flame of a candle as I flipped the pages.Despite everything I claimed about war, this story made me question its futility. I remember feeling the same when I was reading Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian saga. War seeks to establish the superiority of one man over another but Chiron was right when he said that nations were the most foolish of mortal inventions; no man is worth more than another, wherever he is from. And this line rang true as I neared the end of this story of brave men fighting and killing and slaughtering. True that Helen eloped and true that Menelaus felt affronted. But they were not the only ones fighting this battle. A lot many did and a lot many died.Madeline Miller has composed a haunting poetry of love and war, of warm summers and frozen winters, of comforting hearths and distressing funeral pyres. Her prose casually dances over the pages, its elegance an ode to an excellent writer. Her world-building was majestic in its simplicity and her depiction of an age of heroes was heart-wrenching. I wouldn't say I loved this book as much as I did Cornwell's Arthurian tale but Troy has it's own place in the stories I love and Miller's book is a shining gem in that shelf. It is poetic and beautiful, its rhythms like the gentle waves of a beach on a moonlit night. They haunt you long after the water has washed away your footprints."fame is a strange thing. Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired in one generation is abhorred in another.’ He spread his broad hands. ‘We cannot say who will survive the holocaust of memory. Who knows?’"

Achilles was the son of a mortal king, Peleus, and an immortal, cold and cruel goddess, Thetis. He was born for glory and trained as such. Every inch a Prince, he was the most skilled warrior, the most irresistible youth and impeccable in his demeanor. He met Patroclaus by chance when the latter was exiled to the kingdom of Peleus for committing a shameful crime. He was an awkward, fumbling teenager, the exact opposite of Achilles.The two develop an unflinching bond of friendship, much to the surprise of everyone and displeasure and chagrin of Peleus and, particularly, Thetis. However, they were trained by the Centaur, Chiron - Achilles to be an unconquerable soldier and Patroclaus to be dexterous in the art of medicine.Their relationship is fleshed out from the age of 12 until the end of this tragic story. However, they move beyond tragedy as they unite in the afterlife.The book reads like a verse rather than prose. The narrative is descriptive, sensual, lyrical, captivating and, at times, haunting. I found it hard to shut down my Kindle every time I had to pause my reading. In fact, the portrayal painted a vivid picture in my imagination as if the scenes were taking place before my very eyes!Anyone with the love for Greek mythology will love this book to the core. It's a must have for every personal library!

“In the darkness, two shadows, reaching through the hopeless, heavy dusk. Their hands meet, and light spills in a flood like a hundred golden urns pouring out of the sun.”Do you know what reading Song of Achilles does to you? It makes you weep in your pillows for a week, wishing to go inside the book and stop stupid , arrogant people from doing stupid arrogant things. This is just going to be a post on why Song of Achilles is my favourite book of this year and that you should definitely read it, although if you cry easily like I do, I recommend watching something happy later.For all of you living under a rock and knowing nothing about Greek Mythology or this book, this is a hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking (you have no idea how heartbreaking) rendition of the tale of Achilles told by his best friend and lover , Patrocolus. Achilles is known as the best of Greeks second only to Hercules and for his valiant fighting in the Trojan War.But this is not the story of a war, it's the story of a boy hopelessly in love with another. They were parts of same soul, one incomplete without another. This is the romance of ages, of gods and myths, something inexplicable and something beyond painful. This love is not for mortals, only gods have the capacity to love this much and Patrocolus was a god for Achilles.When Achilles landed on the shores of Troy, I didn’t want to read anymore knowing what was going to happen, I wanted to stop right there and then and give them this ending. I wanted to change the narrative to save myself from the pain, to ease something of my heart. Every time I pictured Patroclus and Achilles, it seemed someone is taking my love away and I just couldn’t read further. Oki , time to go and cry again. Ciao