Just finished The Song of Achilles

[MrsBooks]

I didn't cry. Not once. I feel robbed!!

Perhaps I saw it on so many videos on TikTok about how it had broken people I had hyped it up so much? I predicted the ending from about midway - when the prophecy about Hector was revealed I think, and Achilles kept saying "but what has he done to me?"

Am I cold hearted? Should I re-read the ending to be sure?!

Well I think most people would predict the ending given it’s based on a very famous myth? I mean there’s scores of movies, fine art and other retellings, so there was never going to be a huge twist ending.

I enjoyed it, thought it was a lovely easy read. I read it on holiday in Greece and was able to just totally chill out and enjoy it. I thought it was interesting to see it from Patroclus’ perspective when so many retellings are very Achilles centric.

I haven’t read it but am pretty sure I can predict the ending

Managed to read all that and it was ok. Her 2nd one was unreadable. Mary Renault did far better easy reading classics based books. I liked colm toibins book set on Oresteia as well

I quite enjoyed it. Its an easy read. I'm.not sure what you mean by "guessing the ending"? It's a famous story!

A much better read is "The Silence of the Girls" telling the story from the perspective of Breseis and the Trojan women.

I just finished Circe by the same author. Really enjoyed it, beautifully written.

I loved Song of Achilles, it's one of my favourite books.

The Silence of the Girls was also a fantastic read, great to read about women and their roles even if their lives were harsh, a very strong book

I loved both books, but especially Circe.

I have read and loved both The Song of Achilles and Circe. Liked the Silence of the Girls far less. Recently read Ariadne, which was very similar to Circe but nowhere near as good.

I’ve always been far more affected by Hector’s death in stuff based on the Iliad than Patroclus/Achilles. This may or may not be related to Eric Bana .

I agree firmly with the poster upthread who said that Mary Renault wrote about this period with much more skill.

I loved Circe and Achilles, but Circe the most.

For the Pat Barker fans, she has a sequel to The Silence of the Girls out now.

I've found a book on kindle unlimited called Guardians of Thebes about the theban antigone and oedipus myths. Im really enjoying it. Also recommend Robert Graves Homer's Daughter and Golden Fleece.

I liked it, but felt it was a bit overrated given how many people recommended it to me. I'm also feeling a bit bored with the numerous retellings of the Trojan war now, it's not as if there's a lack of other classical stories or myths to write about, and I get a bit tired of reading about people being butchered/sacrificed/raped.

Mary Renault is great, I would particularly recommend her trilogy about Alexander the Great.

It is overrated but i sort of understand why, when it came out mainstream readable lgbt stuff was much rarer so it was put on a pedestal a bit

And yeah its a bit of a running joke in classics-if you want some easy credibility just do an earnest retelling of Homer

I did like SoA but much preferred Circe. Silence of the Girls was fine but much preferred A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes.

I love Natalie Haynes stuff. Her radio 4 series and non-fiction about women in greek myths especially

@Mushtullo

For the Pat Barker fans, she has a sequel to The Silence of the Girls out now.

I am rushing through my current book so I can start this one!

I loved Achilles, but preferred Circe. Silence of The Girls and A Thousand Ships (Natalie Haynes) were also amazing.

I think I would rank the ones I've read:

1. Circe
2. Song of Achilles

Big gap

1. Silence of the Girls

Silence of the girls was way overhyped for me, I thought it was quite bland? Also didn't enjoy the writing of the Greek army as banterous 'lads' but I get what she was going for. Song of Achilles also overhyped but still enjoyable and I loved that it focused on Patroclus. It really did make his story come to life. Circe is the one that gets recommended the least but I thought it was by far the best.

OK, so I'm the only one who didn't know the story then 😂

I can see why you might have been expecting something different if you didn’t know the story. Maybe we could rewrite it with a Fight Club style twist - actually Achilles was Patroclus all along and they’re the same person. That’s why he passes for Achilles in his armour and can suddenly kill people with spears successfully.