The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
This may make me strange, but in high school my favorite assigned reading book was NOT, “The Great Gatsby”. In fact, I didn’t like “The Great Gatsby” at all! So while all the girls in my grade were swooning over the false romanticism of the 1920’s I was daydreaming of the epic heroes of ancient Greece. That’s right, my all time favorite assigned reading books were the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Since I can remember, I’ve been captivated by the Ancient Greek myths. I would spend hours researching the stories on Wikipedia and staring at artwork based off the legends of the time. And there is nothing I love more than a retelling of a classic tale.
“The Song of Achilles” is the remastered retelling of the Iliad, and it’s simply beautiful. I really don’t know how else to describe it. There are a few books that I have come across where the author is able to write in a way that is just so eloquent and beautiful (there’s that word again, I really don’t know another word for it). And it’s not just about what they are saying but how they say it. If I had to compare the writing style to another book I would compare it to “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens or “Piranesi” by Susanna Clarke. This is also the same author who wrote “Circe”, so I’m sure if you like that book you will like this one (and vice versa of course).
Enough of my rambling, I don’t want to give away too much (because it’s not the version of the Iliad you think you know). Read the excerpt on Amazon and buy it or borrow it from the library! Trust me.
The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
Check out my other fiction novel recommendation by clicking the button below.