Susan Hated Even More Stuff

Mostly quotes from books I'm reading. Longer posts are over on www.susanhatedliterature.net.
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Posts tagged "achilles"

odyssian:

I agree that there was plenty from the Epic that was missing from this book, but that didn’t bother me when I read it. I usually try to ignore (in as much as it is possible) the source when reading an adaptation. I don’t always succeed, especially if it is something that I am passionate about, but I do try.

I will agree that what exactly Achilles saw in Patroclus was a bit of a mystery, but I sorta saw it as Patroclus’ own lack of self-esteem.

I will say this much for the book: it’s a gay love story that’s beautifully written.

That, and it joins the rare club of literature (a whole two books I can name off the top of my head) that actually presents one of the Trojan War’s primary heroes as something of a decent human being. It’s not a viewpoint actively shared in retellings of the Epic Cycle, and it’s nice to see that Achilles isn’t constantly demonized.

Beyond that, however, I can’t say that I was incredibly impressed with Miller’s take on the Trojan War. Don’t get me wrong, the book was very beautifully written, engaging, and for all its fallacies, I found myself continually driven toward the end (like the long-list of inaccurate interpretations of myth that I find myself enjoying despite their nature.)

But let me get a few things straight here. And spoilers will be all over the place here on out (though if the story itself surprises you, we have a few things to discuss, like that boulder you’ve been living under for 3000 years).

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The showdown with Hektor should be Achilles’ finest hour. Instead, Achilles is an animal, treating his opponent as one. He is driven by uncontrolled hatred, unable to reach understanding not only with Hektor but himself.
As Odysseus said, many boys took each other for lovers. But such things were given up as they grew older, unless it was with slaves or hired boys. Our men liked conquest; they did not trust a man who was conquered himself.
The song of Achilles - Madeline Miller pg. 166