The Song of Achilles Summary
Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles Overview

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a novel narrated by Patroclus, the prized companion of the most famous of warriors, Achilles. In many ways, this story is a love story between Patroclus and Achilles, as they chose each other’s companionship, and protect it against the parents, teachers and women who threaten it. Their greatest challenge comes from the prophecy that gives Achilles the choice of winning fame as the greatest of warriors or dying unknown. His decision to fulfill the prophecy and earn his immortality by going to Troy to fight in the Trojan War fills Patroclus with dread, but also it raises Patroclus to the status of ‘the best of the Greeks,’ forcing the reader to ask whether Achilles’ accomplishment was his love more than his prowess in battle.