The ancient Greeks associated 8 with unhappiness and imperfection. I rate this book 8 out of 5 stars because a) it will leave you in tears and b) you will curse me.
- It’s the first Ancient Greek retelling that has actually made me want to go read the original. I mean, you recommend me Shakespeare and I’ll give you a dirty look. But this book made me want to find the Iliad (by Homer) and read it in Ancient Greek. It was that good ~ I’m seriously regretting not taking the Classical Civilization courses offered at my school.
Me. With books written before the 1700s.
- It’s a retelling in the eyes of a minor character. The Iliad is about the Trojan war, so it features all the major players (Achilles, Odysseus, Agamemnon, Paris, Helen and Hector). So I was a little unsure of who exactly I was reading about, but it all worked out in the end.
- The prose. Dear lord, the style of writing! Light, descriptive and very very sweet. A sort of stream-of-consciousness but also very heart-wrenching, this book has already made my top books of 2016.
’nuff said.
- Patroclus. An amazing character and even better point of view. Troubled, observant, he truly makes for an amazing narrator. His realizations are sweet and profound and he is dynamic. If Helen’s face started the war, then Patroclus is the one who ended it. Those of you that have read it before will know what I’m talking about.
- Achilles. A flawed character filled with hubris and a whole other bunch of greek words that mean bad things. He is put on a pedestal and at the same time, torn off of it. Seeing him through Patroclus’s eyes makes him more nuanced and likable.
- Thetis. Excuse my language, but THIS. BITCH. You need to read her so you can rage along with me. Was she the original homophobe?
At first, I was like : Why?
And at the end, I wanted to claw off her sea nymph face.
- The romance. Yes, its LGBTQ. Yes, it is sexual. But in a sweet way. It feels more like an actual representation of a relationship (and what comes with it, wink wink) than fetishization. It deals with homophobia (in ancient greek times), masculinity, and jealousy. Neither parties are perfect and they really are perfect halves. They are OTP material.
- The war. While many people have complained that book does not focus as much on the actual war in Troy, when it does, it does it well. The last half of the book is wonderfully tense and entrancing. The descriptions and battles are amazing – the prose really shines here. However, do not go into this book expecting war from page one. Like the summary says, the story is mainly about Patroclus’ and Achilles’ relationship.
- The ending. Everyone needs to read this so that when they finish reading it, they stay up all night reflecting on their feels (as well as occasionally cursing the gods). You regret it, but you don’t regret it. #myinnerphilosopher #aristotlecan’ttouchthis
I totally lied about 8 reasons. But I’m not lying about the Greek curses!
“βάλλ’ εἰς κόρακας” – Throw yourself to the crows
As in, Sarah, I hope you go to hell after giving me a book hangover.
κόπρος – Dung.
As in, Sarah, you are a piece of dung for telling me about this book
kuna – Female dog
As in, Thetis is a class-A female dog.
Honestly, these were the most appropriate I could put on my blog… but let it never be said that the Greeks didn’t know how to throw shade.
Ahh this sounds like something I just have to read!! I studied the Iliad at Uni and this sounds like something I will love! Great post!
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YOU NEED TO 😉 Ohhhhh sounds interesting! Did you enjoy studying it?
Thanks!
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Yeah I did- it’s a phenomenally rich text to study- to be honest I could have spent a lot more time on it! Very easily!
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well now I MUST READ! This was one of the most scrumptious reviews I’ve read in a while!
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Why thank you 😀 I was trying out a new format 🙂
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OMG. This is hidden deep on my TBR list. I think I might have to bump it up. Classical Greek myths are my absolute favorite, and I actually liked reading the Illiad way back when. Also… bless anything that puts Patroclus and Achilles together. Awesome post! This made me so much more excited about it.
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You won’t regret it. 😀 It’s good that you already know about the classical Greek myths – I was lucky because the edition of my book included a great discussion and explanation.
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All things Greek mythology are my absolute favorite. Oo. I might have to invest in one of those editions. I like books with a little extra explanation inside.
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I have this book but I haven’t started reading it…….yet. I love the history of Ancient Greece but I don’t know anything about it except for the Trojan War. I’m really excited to start reading it!
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READ IT. NOW! I was overjoyed when I realized my school library had an available copy 😀 Enjoy!
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This book isn’t like my usual reads, yet it looks great and maybe I’ll be giving it a shot! One of my friends has read it, loved and raved about it but I was still a little hesitant (you see Ancient Greece is something I LOVED studying but the myths were something I have never really read into), but after this post I think you may be changing things 🙂 It is quite hard to resist a 8/5 star book XD
Great review!
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I know! Honestly, I don’t think I would have picked it up if not for the goodreads reviews of some of my favourite bloggers! You don’t really need a background in the myths, thankfully. If you’re lucky, you might even find the edition with the discussion and explanation at the back! Haha, I think 8 is my new favourite number 😛
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Omg your review of it is so perf! I hope you get past your book hangover soon ❤
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Why thank you… I do too. 😀 I need the bookish form of a hangover cure. XD
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I suggest going back to a favourite short(ish) book, something lighthearted to get you into reading again, that’s usually what works for me :).
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Hm. I’ll try out some manga I’ve wanted to read 😀
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Sounds like a plan 🙂
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Woaaahh this convinced me! I just added this on Goodreads! MUST. READ.
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YOU. WON’T. REGRET. IT XD
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I keep hearing about this book…yet I’ve never picked it up. MUST ADD TO GOODREADS.
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Haha, I know I’m adding to the hype train 😀 But it’s totally worth it!
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My fiance wanted to write a modern translation of The Oddessy at some point but nixed it because there were too many things that wouldn’t translate well to modern text, and he’d have to practically change the story- or the way it was intended to be read. Interesting to see there’s someone that actually did that!
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That sounds really cool! Yeah, a lot of the book was giving background on the times – but at the same time, the story was a lot slower. I guess there’s a certain trade-off required 🙂
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Great review, I love the format you chose. Song of Achilles has been on my list for so long; I actually purchased a copy and haven’t read it yet. This definitely makes me want to pick it up!
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Thank you! I thought it was a nice change from our usual format 😀
Ohhh lucky… I totally need to buy my own copy. You won’t regret cracking it open XD
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This sounds SO INTERESTING I really need to read it. I LOVE retellings. Have you read the Wrath and the Dawn?
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You should 😀 Faith and I have read the Wrath and the Dawn – but Faith loved it more than I did. We are planning a duo review – did you read it?
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Yeah I read it a while ago and it was one of the few books that I didn’t actually review * gasp * XD
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Woaaaaaah you actually review all the books you read? Amazed XD
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I try ;D
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