The Trojan War, told by Patroclus: an exiled prince, the golden son of a goddess, and a love story you know will end in tragedy.
Gorgeous prose, a patient, earned love story and a devastating final quarter, held back by a slow first half and an Achilles who is a little too perfect. Four and a half out of five.
Every guide comes as a video and a full written article. Pick the one you need: the review is spoiler-free, the ending explained is not.
Is The Song of Achilles worth reading? A spoiler-free review of Madeline Miller's retelling of the Iliad through Patroclus: the love story, the writing, Thetis, what drags, content notes and my score.
How true to Homer is The Song of Achilles? Were Achilles and Patroclus lovers in the Iliad, what about Briseis, the heel and the golden urn, and what Madeline Miller invented. Full spoilers.
The Song of Achilles ending explained, with full spoilers: how Patroclus dies, the Hector prophecy, Priam, Achilles' death, Pyrrhus and the name on the tomb, Thetis and the final line.
Loved The Song of Achilles? Six books to read next, from Circe to The Silence of the Girls and the Iliad itself, and how to choose between them.
Is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller worth reading? A one-minute, spoiler-free review: the setup, the catch, and my score.
The Song of Achilles (2011) was Madeline Miller’s first novel and won the Orange Prize in 2012. It retells the Trojan War through Patroclus, an exiled prince who grows up beside Achilles, falls in love with him, and follows him to Troy.
Below you’ll find a spoiler-free review, the ending explained, what Miller changed from the Iliad, and six Greek myth retellings to read next.
It's the story of the Trojan War, told by the man the Iliad treats as a side character: Patroclus. He's a small, awkward prince who disappoints his father, and after a terrible accident he's exiled to the court of King Peleus.
There he meets Peleus's son, Achilles: golden, gifted, and half god. His mother is a sea nymph named Thetis, and she has big plans for him.
It's the story of the Trojan War, told by the man the Iliad treats as a side character: Patroclus. He's a small, awkward prince who disappoints his father, and after a terrible accident he's exiled to the court of King Peleus.
Gorgeous prose, a patient, earned love story and a devastating final quarter, held back by a slow first half and an Achilles who is a little too perfect. Four and a half out of five. Read it if: you love beautiful writing and tragic love stories; you're curious about greek myths, even if you've never read homer; you loved circe. Skip it if: you want nonstop battles; you need a happy ending. Review: The Song of Achilles →
Our ending explained covers the final chapters in full, with spoilers. The Song of Achilles ending explained, with full spoilers: how Patroclus dies, the Hector prophecy, Priam, Achilles' death, Pyrrhus and the name on the tomb, Thetis and the final line. Ending explained: The Song of Achilles →
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker, A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, Ariadne by Jennifer Saint, The Iliad (translated by Emily Wilson) by Homer, Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault. Books like it: The Song of Achilles →
Yes. It's a romance between Achilles and Patroclus, told by Patroclus. Homer never calls them lovers, but ancient writers like Aeschylus and Plato did, and Miller makes the relationship central.
Not really. There is some sexual content, but the love story is a slow burn built over years, not a spicy romance. Other content notes include graphic war violence, human sacrifice, sexual coercion and the deaths of children.
Patroclus, the exiled prince who grows up beside Achilles. The whole story, including the Trojan War, is seen through his eyes.
No. The book works even if you've never read Homer. If you want the source afterward, Emily Wilson's 2023 translation of the Iliad is clear and fast.
Yes. It was Madeline Miller's first novel, published in 2011, and it won the Orange Prize in 2012.
Historical fantasy: a retelling of the Trojan War and the Iliad in which the gods and Achilles' goddess mother are real, told as a slow-burn love story.
Yes. It is a tragic love story and the last quarter hits hardest. Content notes include graphic war violence, human sacrifice, sexual coercion and the deaths of children.
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