Litsy

MollyLooby

Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller

Finally starting this!

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notreallyelaine

Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller

so-so

Picked up as part of my effort to read all the books I own. A lovely vacation/sick read. I rarely read YA so the dialogue and romance scenes felt deliciously ridiculous.

1 like

Cortg

The Silence of the Girls: A Novel | Pat Barker

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June‘s book club choice is a Greek mythology retelling from the perspective of Briseis, a Queen in Troy taken as a prize for Achilles towards the end of the Trojan war. I enjoyed learning about the war and time period and I think it‘ll make a fun discussion next week. This is the first of a trilogy so I may pick up the audio for the rest of the series.

32 likes

Mattsbookaday

The Silence of the Girls: A Novel | Pat Barker

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The Silence of the Girls (Women of Troy 1), by Pat Barker (2018)

Premise: The last days of the Trojan War told through the eyes of Briseis, the enslaved former princess of a Trojan ally whose theft by Agamemnon set off the events of the *Iliad*.

Review: The Greek myth retelling fad got old very quickly for me, but this is one of the best. Cont.

Mattsbookaday It does a brilliant job of bringing out the complexity of Achilles‘s and Patroclus‘s characters, truly heroic but also men who enslaved women for their pleasure and glory. Briseis is depicted as an intelligent woman determined to survive at all costs. This was wonderful and I‘m excited to read on in the series.

Bookish Pair: This stands in conversation with Madeline Miller‘s The Song of Achilles (2011)

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3mo

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SarahBookInterrupted

The Song of Achilles (Enhanced Edition): A Novel | Madeline Miller

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I didn‘t actually know about Achilles story other than his heel, which wasn‘t mentioned. Would he really be killed by a spear in the heel?? I liked that the story was narrated by Patroclus rather than Achilles. It created more of what others saw: the hero. My favourite part was with Chiron and how he was immune to Thetis motherly wrath, which it seemed as though he was the only one. I cried at the end, the last sentence was perfection.

Leniverse It was an arrow to the heel, shot by Paris, and it's not covered in the Illiad either. I'm not sure where the legend comes from. The Odyssey covers his funeral, but I don't think it has the details of his death. Achilles' ashes are mixed with those of Patroclus and placed in a gold urn. Together in death, it really is the ultimate "they were roommates" story. 3mo

IndianBookworm One of my absolute favorites! 😍 3mo

SarahBookInterrupted @Leniverse It‘s not in The Illiad either? I‘ve had that on my bookshelf forever and just have never got to it. I just assumed that‘s one of the places the legend had sprouted from…interesting. Yes and the “debate” about Achilles and Patroclus is just laughable. (edited) 3mo

SarahBookInterrupted @IndianBookworm I enjoyed it! 3mo

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RobES

Silence of the Girls | Pat Barker

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Honestly, going to the library is bringing me such joy! This is another library book that I've finished and it was really good. I've been super tired and grumpy as last couple of days and going to the library today just really perked me up ❤️

41 likes

konlitsy

The Song of Achilles | Madeline Miller

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"Love" is a word often hyped, yet underrated. It's ambiguous, open to interpretation, but the feeling—the tightness in your chest—remains the same. When I was reading this book ,I I truly felt love in words , not a typical romantic but love in its purest form . Patroclus and Achilles are the main characters, but it‘s their deep connection, their emotions, that truly take center stage, making their love unforgettable.❤️❤️

7 likes