"I could recognise him by touch alone, by smell; I would know him blind, by the way his breaths came and his feet struck the earth. I would know him in death, at the end of the world.”
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a retelling of the Greek myth of Achilles and Patroclus (from the Iliad) where Patroclus, a young boy, is banished from his father's kingdom for accidentally killing another boy, and sent as an exile to Phthia where he meets Achilles - Aristos Achaion and the son of the king. The book spans across their boyhood and coming of age, growing up only to realise that their time together has come down to be placed in the Trojan War, where their prophecies and fates will play out for the legends to speak of.
Madeline Miller has done a great job in bringing to life, the legendary myth of the two people whose relationship has been a controversial topic for centuries. The writing of this book was extremely personal, and I think one of the major reasons behind the success of this book, is that the author has a deep spiritual connection with every person in this myth. She knows the characters well, which is why she's able to give them the voices they need, to resonate so deeply with the readers. She has empathised and, in a way, almost transformed herself in writing as half-god Achilles or the exiled underdog Patroclus or the stone-cold sea nymph Thetis or the senile but wise Peleus or the obnoxious and selfish Agamemnon and every single character we come across.
As someone who passionately studies Greek and Roman Mythology, it took me about a month to finish this book since I had to fact-check and read beyond the pages of every single incident. And lo and behold, I was absolutely mesmerised by how perfectly this book was able to depict the immensely intimate, warm-blooded, and pure relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. The way Madeline weaves her sentences into personalised emotions for the two as well as everyone and everything around them, I was swooning with each paragraph. It's powerful and yet adequately soft for a legendary myth.
Although I knew how the myth ends, the author was successful in leaving me devastated with her writing and character-building skills. The way she moulds her writing to accommodate romance, war, coming-of-age, parenting, sex, and travel: all wrapped up inside the golden veil of Homeric Greek is magnificent.
This is one cultured queer story based on a Greek myth. What else do I have to say for someone to pick it up, read it and wail with me? Nothing.
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