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5
"Pride became us- heroes were never modest."

Reread review: it was so great to re-read this story. I am not usually a person who enjoys “love stories�� but Achilles and Patroclus just have my heart. This was beautiful and lyrical, and caused my heart to ache at the end. A mesmerising and capturing tale.

Original review:

Patroclus, an awkward and shy young prince, is exiled from his family due to a misfortunate incident and is sent to the court of King Peleus, where his perfect son Achilles resides. Patroclus and Achilles are very different; Patroclus is shy, alone and an onlooker to others activities, whereas Achilles is confident and destined for greatness. Despite these differences, Achilles befriends the shamed Patroclus and it is the start of a blossoming friendship.
As they grow into young men, Achilles becomes skilled in the art of war and Patroclus the art of medicine. Through their training their bond becomes stronger and progresses to something deeper.
When news comes of a war in Troy, Achilles must go and fulfil his destiny and Patroclus makes the decision to follow. The events throughout this book tests the boundaries of friendship, love and everything Patroclus holds dear.

This book was simply stunning! It was utterly captivating and heart breaking. Patroclus and his relationship with Achilles captivated my heart and mind. Some of the events of the book were gut-wrenching and filled me with dread.
There was such a grand feeling of love and tragedy throughout this book. Madeline Miller was able to portray this through her poetic prose, and the result was utterly beautiful.

This book follows Patroclus POV- from a young boy to a young man. It describes his developing love for Achilles, despite facing the displeasure from other people and the adverse events he must overcome to be with him. It questions how far Patroclus would go to be with the one he loves. He also has to face the questions of whether he truly knows Achilles, when Achilles' blood lust and pride become too much.

Throughout this book you see Patroclus develop as a character. He is first depicted as weak and shy, but he continually grows throughout the book to become self-accepting and confident in his decisions, which is shown through his skill with surgery and helping others. He helps a girl called Briesis to escape a terrible fate and in turn they form a friendship. He continuously grows to be more brave and makes the decision to face the war- all in the name for saving someone he loves and doing what he believes is just and right. He is simply a character to love and admire in this book!

There were some great secondary characters in this book. I especially loved Chiron the centaur, with his wisdom and teaching of skills and his knowledge of the world. I also loved Briesis as she was so loyal to Patroclus despite the fact her actions could get her harmed. We also get to see angry and vengeful gods, such as Apollo, causing havoc for the mortals.

Madeline Miller writes in such a way that you feel like you are there to witness these events. She describes human sacrifice and the degrading treatment of women that would be expected of that time (and still relevant to today's world sadly), she describes war strategy and death as well as love and enjoyment. It is easy to imagine the scenes and events of this book vividly.

My words simply cannot capture how fantastic this book is and how it captivated me from start to finish! I just definitely know I will reread this in the future!