Song of Achilles & Circe by Madelline Miller

Ancient soap operas featuring demigods, witches, Gods & monsters

As someone who grew up with (and obsessed over) Percy Jackson and the Heroes of Olympus, these books were the perfect novels to rediscover my love of Greek mythology.  

The Song of Achilles

"We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other."

This book has been all the rage over Bookstagram, and for good reason. It's the kind of romance novel that spoils real life for you. 

Penned in simplistic prose, The Song of Achilles is an accessible reinterpretation of Homer's Illiad. It provides a backstory to the forgotten prince Patroclus and adds vulnerability to the infallible demigod Achilles. It humanizes the "best of all the Greeks" and gives a new dimension to his vengeance.

All is fair in love and war, but what if you lose love in war?

The progression of Patroclus and Achilles' relationship from friends to lovers was organic. We meet the famous centaur Chiron and get aboard Odysseus' ship to bring Helen back from Sparta.  Set during the battle of Troy, Madeline Miller tells a tale about friendship and love, hamartia, and hubris.

It's been a long time since I truly cared as much about fictional characters as I did in my angsty teen era. This made the last few pages difficult to read, with teary eyes clouding my vision.  Even though you know the ending, you can’t help wishing for a different one.

"Name one hero who was happy."
I considered. Heracles went mad and killed his family; Theseus lost his bride and father; Jason's children and new wife were murdered by his old; Bellerophon killed the Chimera but was crippled by the fall from Pegasus' back.
"You can't." He was sitting up now, leaning forward.
"I can't."
"I know. They never let you be famous AND happy." He lifted an eyebrow. "I'll tell you a secret."
"Tell me." I loved it when he was like this.
"I'm going to be the first." He took my palm and held it to his. "Swear it."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the reason. Swear it."
"I swear it," I said, lost in the high color of his cheeks, the flame in his eyes.
"I swear it," he echoed.
We sat like that a moment, hands touching. He grinned.
"I feel like I could eat the world raw."

Circe 

"They do not care if you are good. They barely care if you are wicked. The only thing that makes them listen is power."

Madeline Miller won the Orange Prize for Fiction with her debut novel, but it took her 7 years to publish her next work. 

To be completely honest, I did not remember the lore about the woman who made pigs of men.  I was under the impression that Circe was a wily old hag with the looks of a temptress.  

Except that I couldn't have been more wrong.

I don't know the best way to describe it: 

"A story about how a sensitive woman becomes an ice cold bitch courtesy daddy-issues and rapist men."  Or 

"A story about an evil, dysfunctional family with one sensible daughter who tries to save everyone, even though not everyone should be saved."  Or 

"How the weak get exploited and the vulnerable are bullied, but then driven to become the strongest and best version of themselves"  Or simply

"A coming of age story." 

It takes time for the timid and insecure girl to blossom into a strong and self-assured woman.

A looong time in which

• a Titan is sentenced to eternal torture,

• a sadistic woman is transformed into the sadistic monster Scylla,

• a man becomes immortal and believes he is the shit when he is just shit,

• an innocent is banished to an island to appease the Gods,

• a lioness is adopted as a pet,

• a Minotaur is born and caged in Labyrinth,

• men are turned to swine,

• we meet Odysseus again after his adventures in Troy,

• and more.

It takes years, decades, and even centuries. But we get there.

And Gods, is the journey satisfying. Learned so much from it, and savored every bit of it!

I’m sure you will too.

"I had been old and stern for so long, carved with regrets and years like a monolith. But that was only a shape I had been poured into. I did not have to keep it."

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Playlist recommendation: Gang Of Youths - Achilles, Come Down, Saying your last goodbye to your comfort character