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The Song of Achilles: A Novel
The Song of Achilles: A Novel
The Song of Achilles: A Novel
Audiobook11 hours

The Song of Achilles: A Novel

Written by Madeline Miller

Narrated by Frazer Douglas

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

“At once a scholar’s homage to The Iliad and startlingly original work of art by an incredibly talented new novelist….A book I could not put down.”
—Ann Patchett

“Mary Renault lives again!” declares Emma Donoghue, author of Room, referring to The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller’s thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War. A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.

Editor's Note

An entertaining epic…

An imaginative reinvention of a classic epic, this entertaining foray into Ancient Greece will satisfy lovers of literature and poetry alike.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateMar 6, 2012
ISBN9780062115577
The Song of Achilles: A Novel
Author

Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two novels: The Song of Achilles, which won the Orange Women’s Prize for Fiction 2012, and Circe, which was short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019. Her books have been translated into over thirty two languages. Miller holds an MA in Classics from Brown University, studied in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms, and taught Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over a decade.

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Reviews for The Song of Achilles

Rating: 4.498968126576473 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

4,361 ratings413 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Amazing narration. Beautiful prose. I'm in love with the characters. What a beautiful story.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The language in this one is amazing. The wordflow is enchanting ?

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I think this is an incredibly well written book and definitely want to read more books by this author.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Heartbreaking, especially the last chapter. A must read. The research that went into writing this book must have been solid, as it shines rich with history. Miller's writing is like an intoxicating love spell, it takes over you, makes you dizzy and has you succumbing to images she carefully and deliberately places in your mind. Not a word was wasted. I fell in love then had my heart broken, my soul has been shaken. I write this as if still under the spell this story weaves.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book has been recommended on Booktok and numerous facebook pages.
    I never fully grasped why. I mean, the tale of Achilles has been told many times.
    If you do not know of Brad Pitt's role in Troy, you were either living under a rock when that film came out, or are too young to even know who Brad Pitt is.
    Once upon a time I've studied Latin. The story about the Trojan War was my favorite.
    So what could a book possibly do that would make this worth reading?
    How i was mistaken. I get it now. It's the emotions, the build-up in the love story between two friends, two lovers, two famous names in history. It has been a while since a cried in a book.
    I wept like a baby. The ending is know and yet it pierced my soul as if I've never heard the story before.
    Yes. This is a book worth reading. I might go cry a bit more now

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautifully written, beautifully read. It's been a while since I've liked a book this much

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautifully written. A fresh telling of Achilles’ life from a new point of view. Both heart warming and heart wrenching, this is a story I won’t soon forge.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautiful, heart-wrenching, breathtaking. What an artistic story and wonderfully narrated as well. Thank you.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It is a masterpiece and would be a great introduction to Greek mythology.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Such a painful love story. It was beautifully performed by the narrator. Enjoyed till the last page.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    very well narrated. The story was interesting, I'not a huge Greek mythology fan, but still this was good. The vantage point of Patroclus gives a good analysis into the vanity of men who seek fame.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Things i wanted from Call me by your name but never got. Simply amazing. I am not a crying type, but i wheeped like a baby.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The love story between Achilles and Petroclus is so well told I was sad about the end before I even got there.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    the ending… that fucking last chapter… you really did not have to write that last chapter and lump in my throat… 10/10 really??

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Miller has a masterful way of writing, choosing the exact right word in every situation. I loved this one just as much as Circe.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The best I’ve read in a while. Recommend for the romantics and people who believe in true love. But I must warn you. You will cry.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A celebration of the divinity of love in its purest.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely beautiful! I was switching between listening to the audiobook and reading my physical copy. It surely made my reading experience better. Highly recommended!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Loved this book. As a fan of Greek mythology it was wonderful ?

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked this a lot. Very touchingly depicted story of love and loss with a familiar mythological overlay. I really enjoyed the narrative device and the interactions of the characters with gods - especially Thetis. If you want a beautiful boy loving a beautiful boy type story, this is a high recommend.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Beautifully written and narrated. A guilty pleasure to listen to.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Based on Homer’s Iliad, this book is a retelling story about Achilles, the great warrior from Greek Mythology from the point of view of Patroclus, his companion and lover. Madeline Miller focus on the relationship between the two with detail intimacy and extreme sensitivity it feels real and human.
    “They won’t let anyone becomes a hero and being happy at the same time, and I’ll be the first!” Said Achilles at some point in their early life. And by the end of the story, after years of intense war and tragedy, I asked myself, “was he actually happy?

    Yes, I think he was.”

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    What great story telling.
    A good tale to be read out loud.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A retelling of the story of Achilles life and death from the perspective of his lover. The book was well written and has inclined me to look into the Greek mythology.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    An amazing book and great voice to tell the memories of Achilles and Patroclus.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    beautiful, tragic,epic... so so so good. I don't know what to say

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It was beautifully written from start to finish. loved it

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This novel did what it should do...it lifted me and sends me on a voyage to meet real people in a world of amazing sacrifices and beauty.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I didn't find it very interesting. I kept hoping it would get better but it was steadily dull.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Absolutely fantastic - read it! Audio version is an excellent way to enjoy this unforgettable story.

    1 person found this helpful