Review: 'The Song of Achilles', Madeline Miller

Given the speed with which I breezed through 'The Song of Achilles', suffice to say I enjoyed it immensely.

Where to begin with this particular re-telling of the oldest tale in western civilisation, i.e. the Trojan War? Sincerely mythical in its tone, Madeline Miller's years of studying and teaching Classical languages and literature have stood her in good stead to update this most famous of legends. She does quite successfully maintain that ancient, divinely inspired tragedy which oozes from the very words of the Greek Myths. However, what makes this story stand out from any straight up translation of Homer's Iliad is that she has chosen for her protagonist Patroclus, lifelong companion to 'Aristos Achaion' / 'Greatest of the Greeks': Achilles. This is not simply a re-telling, it is an interpretation of the Trojan War as tragic love story and it is really quite beautiful.

By all accounts, Achilles and Patroclus had a special and intimate relationship. *Spoiler alert, though it seems kind of defunct given the sheer age of this spoiler*: Achilles only breaks his non combatant vow after Patroclus charges at the Trojans dressed in his armour, and is then killed by Hector in a case of tragic mistaken identity. This fact alone does betray something deeper than friendship; it is grief which moves Achilles to action and fulfilling his destiny, bringing the Trojan War to its closing stages. Miller has focused on and built on this to weave a poetic tale of love which outshines all other bonds of brotherhood, nation, and obsequience to royal authority.

“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.”

I loved details such as how Miller brings to life the preponderance the ancients had with Fate and prophecy. Achilles is described as having divine traits, inherited from his sea nymph mother Thetis: his bright eyes flecked with gold; his skin and very aura radiant; his hair flowing and golden. About halfway through the story, once Achilles is grown and his fame as a great warrior spreads, there is a terrible prophecy told to him by his mother: if he goes to fight in Troy he will die, but should he choose not to fight, this divine potential within him will wither and he will be condemned to live a mortal life, his name fading forever into obscurity. His destiny is calling, and he must answer.

In addition, Miller really brings so many of these legendary characters to life. I found them jumping right off the page, still recognisably mythic yet closer, more relatable. Shrewd, scheming Odysseus who manages to be somehow charming, canny and the most politically astute individual in whichever room he happens to occupy. Wise, stoic Chiron the centaur who speaks only in educational truths, and whose chapters spent as teacher to Achilles and Patroclus are like the halcyon days of yore given the brutality and pity of war that come later. Agamemnon, whose vile displays of megalomania and narcissism are enough to churn the stomach as he bullies and berates his way through any resistance to his petulant will. Briseis, pragmatic in her enslavement thenceforth blossoming friendship with Patroclus, quick to learn, wide eyed and beautiful. By the time Agamemnon's machinations of power put her at risk of his lustful desire I felt genuine panic for her wellbeing.

The only criticisms I have of this fantastic novel are just that at times it felt a little too familiar, its modern reading giving it, in certain moments, a feeling not too far away from an American teen drama. There is a lot of sex, which Miller manages to describe both graphically yet also sensitively. Given the lustful desires of pretty much every figure in Greek mythology, the gods most of all, this is hardly inaccurate. I suppose the love story itself, which was beautifully rendered, just felt a little contrived: from great figures of myth to characters in a melodrama, sometimes within the space of a paragraph. Achilles would have to have been a pretty special soul if he only had eyes for ordinary old Patroclus. Regardless, their abiding mutual love and fidelity make for a wonderful story.

Towards the end of the novel, Miller writes an excellent meditation on myth, and the various readings and interpretations of these ancient stories. Their enduring truths are immeasurable but they are, essentially, updated and read in line with the prevailing values of the day. Where once Achilles would have been seen as one of the original Heroes of all time, the progenitor of medieval myths like Siegfried or King Arthur, today he is more Armie Hammer in 'Call Me By Your Name'.

“Odysseus inclines his head. "True. But 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?" He smiles. "Perhaps one day even I will be famous. Perhaps more famous than you.”