The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

 ★★★★½

GENRE: Historical Fiction
SUBJECT: Trojan War, Ancient Greek society
Setting: Greece, Troy
CHARACTERS: Patroclus, Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Hector, Thetis, Briseis
DATE READ: June 9 - June 13
NO. OF PAGES: 416
Off the Shelf (pre-2013)? Source?:   Yes, Kindle gift card

PLOT:.......................................4.00
CHARACTERIZATION:..........4.50
TOPICS:...................................4.50
STYLE:.....................................4.50
ORIGINALITY:..........................5.00
ADDICTIVENESS:.................4.50
OWNERSHIP:..........................5.00
THRESHOLD QUALITY:.........4.00
Average.........................................................4.50

A love story with just soldiers and war?  How can that be?  However, even though the backdrop of this story is the Trojan War, this truly is a love story just not the typical one that we expect.

From the very beginning the narrator Patroclus takes our hand and leads us to an ancient time when what was taught to young boys was the art of warfare.  Those that did not excel were fated for servitude.   But Patroclus was fortunate enough to be taken as Prince Achilles companion when he was fostered into exile in Phthia. 

There the love story of Achilles and Patroclus takes us on a journey through their youths and education - Achilles destiny lives in warfare as the stories have always told us, while Patroclus, at Achilles' side learns the art of healing.

The war with Troy brings Achilles and Patroclus to the site where the prophecies of Achilles' glory and death are twisted among the horrors of war.  "Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired in one generation is abhorred in another. We cannot say who will survive the holocaust of memory."

Throughout this story we see how these two young honorable men lose their innocence while their destinies are intertwined causing their sacrifices and suffering fueled by pride over honor.

I've always been fascinated by mythology and this story combined a touch of history along with the wrath of the gods.