Every person who has read this book says that they came out a changed person. They are correct.

I always though the Song of Achilles was a perfect name. The rage of Achilles was really the death of Patroclus but the song of Achilles was the life of his love.

There really needs to be a movie adaptation of Song of Achilles. It has extreme potential! I do think that it would be difficult to produce a clear internal emotion from the perspective of Patroclus, if that’s what the screen production would stick to based on the book, with the amount of times Miller writes his feelings down versus his thoughts. However, the writing has incredible visual and tactile imagery that would work so well! And the story, of course, would be great to see on screen.

Oh my god. I could listen to her speaking for hours

You can tell that MM loves Achilles and Patroclus so much and feels so much of their pain. This book has absolutely changed my life

I was searching for The Song Of Achilles related vídeos and I found this live q&a and book talk is available in youtube! This was one of the best day of this year for me, I actually asked her two questions and she answered them. She gave insight that made my experience with my favorite book even more fulfilling and special. I can’t recommend this book enough!

Such an amazing book. Read it when I was 18, and it completely changed me. It spawned my love for reading, my love for Greek mythology and for greater mythology. As bigoted as it sounds, homosexual interactions/relationships (as much as I was/am okay with them) made me uncomfortable. I remember being so shocked reading this book when I found out there was something more than a platonic relationship between Achilles and Patroclus. It really threw me off, and I considered dropping the book altogether because it made me feel so disconnected. But I kept reading despite that feeling. I began to fall in love with their love! It felt so deep and wonderful. I believe this book helped me grow as a person so so much. So thanks Madeline Miller! My favorite book of all time this one.

She did a wonderful job of explaining Achilles, his life, the Trojan war and death. Brought me back to high school studying in my Athens High school. I hope you enjoy!

This book is honestly one of the greatest pieces of literature ever created. And not just experts in ancient Greek mythology can appreciate its glory, it's beautiful to anybody who reads it. Take it from me. I'm twelve. Yes, I know, I'm mature beyond my years. My mom tells me all the time. But it's true that The Song of Achilles can be appreciated by everyone, anybody who says it other than a masterpiece is a fool. I've always been interested in Greek mythology, whether it be schoolwork or reading Percy Jackson when I was smaller, it's always something that's been fascinating to me. So when I noticed my mom reading a book called The Song of Achilles I asked if I could read it, which she greatly encouraged (thank you mom). I can never thank her enough for handing me the book. It's beautifully told, wonderfully constructed and so very fascinating, even if the Illiad has already been told hundreds of times before. Madeline does such a phenomemal job of telling this timeless story that I still cried my eyes out when Patroclus and Achilles died, though I knew the entire story going into it. You're truly incredible, Madeline. You've managed to touch so many people with this story, whether they be fully grown adults or college students or middle schoolers. Never stop writing, your books will always be works of art! Thanks to you I am currently writing my own novel, following the story of Briseis. I hope one day to move people with my writing as you do!

the most wonderful 52 minutes I have spent on KZfaq

she’s such an incredibly fluent speaker, i could absolutely listen to her for hours. i loved song of achilles so much, definitely one my favourite books, and have had it at the back of my mind for so long. thank you, Madeline Miller. i’m forever indebted to you for this incredible obsession that you have given me.

I read Circe, then SOA, I loved them equally. I re read SOA, a month after I finished it. It’s a beautiful book, and tragic to boot. I have never been so moved by a book.

Thank you for this interview!! This was honestly one of my favorite books of all time, and I like hearing about her process. She has a way with words, first book I've ever cried to haha. Thank you Ms. Miller for telling this story, and portraying a romance and acurately showing what it feels like to fall in love.

The thing that bothers me the most about all this is that I arrived 4 years late for the well-deserved hype that this book has. I finished listening to the audio book (an experience that I highly recommend. The narrator did an exceptional job) for the second time two days ago and I am still in mourning. It is a beautiful story, excellently narrated and described. The depth in Patroclus, the complexity of Achilles. The development of love and its dynamics. The passion, the faith, the dedication, the adoration, the sensations... The story changes your life, you become someone new, with a new definition of loving. It is wonderful.

The thing with the arrow and the invincibility sans heel: when people are talking about how a heel wound wouldn't kill instantly, it pays the fact that in the legends the arrow that hit Achilles was actually one of the poisoned arrows that belonged to Heracles. Also I'm guessing the whole question of why Thetis didn't double-dip Achilles would be why Rick Riordan came up with a one-dip rule.

Madeline, I'm waiting for more ...anything! Thank you for Circe and Achilles...

I just started re-reading this book yesterday!

I just finished the book im still crying

I LOVE how she said “hubris,” being that it was one of the Greek words she incorporated into the story.

It's crazy that she'll never know how her work affected me, I wish I could tell her somehow, just thank you

On the whole "who was older" or "who topped and who bottomed" war, Homer does explicitly say Patroclus was older, tho that could just be a poetic way of saying mature. Also if Achilles were to be the eromenos ("beloved"/bottom) one could view it as spending so much time trying to be the fierce, powerful warrior prince everyone wants him to be, Achilles wants to let go of the struggles and let himself be vulnerable and feel genuinely loved and not respected/feared. Also while kind and gentle, og Patroclus was NO weedy weakling. Re-reading the Iliad, Homer has actually given Patroclus the epithets of "valiant," "brave," "heroic," and "loved by Zeus/gods." He IS a soldier in Achilles' army for good reason.

Thank you so much for this! Brilliant interview, great questions.

Gahhh i am so thankful for getting to read this book, i wish i was aware of it before but i’m just as happy reading it now! But i genuinely wanna Say how much Miller’s writing has inspired me to push myself to write more, it was something i’d never thought i’d enjoy and just finishing TSOA and seeing her writing has got me hooked with reading and writing!

I’ll never get tired of this interview

If you love Madeline Miller's superb novel, you might enjoy this performance of Book Nine of the Lattimore translation of the Iliad, on which her novel is based. I'm a Shakespearean actor, and author of "How to Write about Homer" (Infobase, 2010), and I gave it my best shot. It includes the "Embassy to Achilles" scene, where Agamemnon send Odysseus, Ajax and Phoenix to try and persuade Achilles to rejoin the war and save the Greek armies. ​@​

Amazing interview! It breaths insight into the book! Thank you for the incredible research and love that is called “the song of Achilles” it is truly a story about the human condition and monumental pure love.

I thoroughly enjoyed this talk. It makes me happy to see this magnificent book gaining readership and recognition, now 9 years after it was published.

Madeline Miller is a literary genius

It was so great listening to her talk about this amazing amazing book. I completed reading it yesterday, wrote an alternate ending on my Instagram today (lol) and plan on buying Iliad and Circie. I think she has encouraged me to look into Greek mythology. imp very happy about it.

queen, love her.

madeline is amazing

I drank the blood of Patroclus while Aeneas craved my own glistening body

Thank God she pronounces Patroclus the same way I have throughout my life (emphasis on the first syllable). The audiobook is BEAUTIFULLY narrated but places the emphasis on the second syllable, and the name sounds sooooo much worse. EDIT. JK She switches between the two. LOL.

Didn't even know that 'Iliad' means 'Song of Troy'. As we only have the words and the original music is long forgotten, we must have a partial view of its original appeal. The Ancient Greeks invented an alphabet to record the words, but they never devised an adequate music notation.

could the book have been called The Achilliad? It still means 'the song of achilles' but has the added significance of sounding like 'The Illiad' showing how bound to Troy his fate was?

I'm here after playing the Hades game

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