SBTB Goodreads Group discussion

Our February 2019 Read-Along is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

This book took nearly 50% of the votes!

Leave your thoughts about the book in this thread! You can wait until you finish the book or leave comments as you read.

Awesome - it is on kindle unlimited!

I enjoyed the book (until the downer ending, which I knew was canon but EVEN SO)...I remember discussing this book on an m/m-themed blog during its original release and wondering if it would be the one to mainstream m/m romance (and fanfiction, for that matter, since that's basically what it is--and as a fanfic lover I mean that in a positive way). I forgot the author who replied, but he felt that SONG OF ACHILLES would always be seen as literary fiction only no matter what, because of how it was published and its more highbrow trappings. (It seems to me that Andrew Sean Greer's LESS--a book I loved--did get mainstreamed, though again it's seen only as literary fiction, even though it ends up having even more hallmarks of m/m in it by the end.) Thoughts?

Koozebane wrote: "I enjoyed the book (until the downer ending, which I knew was canon but EVEN SO)...I remember discussing this book on an m/m-themed blog during its original release and wondering if it would be the..."

Forgive me, not a native English speaker. I don't really understand what you mean by 'mainstreamed' here?

My interpretation is that mainstream means something very widely known and/or accepted. Mainstream as a verb means to make something common knowledge and popular, where before it was lesser known or rare.

For example, with food in the US, thirty years ago sushi was not mainstream. In bigger cities, coastal cities, and island cities, sushi was available, but many people thought it unusual or rare. Now, many small towns have sushi, everyone knows what sushi is, and the idea of it is not unusual. Sushi has been mainstreamed.

As the word 'mainstreamed' is not mainstream, I think Koozebane would be better able to explain the exact meaning.

Oh, I'm sorry! I meant that I thought SONG OF ACHILLES and LESS might have drawn more attention to the m/m genre because of their popularity, but they were still somehow considered only as general literary fiction in the media at the time...

Koozebane wrote: "Oh, I'm sorry! I meant that I thought SONG OF ACHILLES and LESS might have drawn more attention to the m/m genre because of their popularity, but they were still somehow considered only as general ..."

I think part of the solution to that question lies in the fact that these are not romance novels? Because romance as a genre is generally understood to be not-literary.

Or am I then still misunderstanding you?

No, that makes a lot of sense. I think I was viewing them through an m/m enthusiast's lens, which made me see too much overlap...

I finished last night. I had read Circe first shortly after it came out, but I liked this one better. The ending was bittersweet; most people would know how it would end, but what actually got me tearing up was Patroclus’ shade speaking with Thetis and her granting his final wish.

One of the criticisms that romance gets is “you always know how it will end.” Well this book is critically acclaimed and you could say the same; the journey was the important part, just like romances.

Koozebane wrote: "I enjoyed the book (until the downer ending, which I knew was canon but EVEN SO)...I remember discussing this book on an m/m-themed blog during its original release and wondering if it would be the..."

It is fanfic! Same with Circe. I wonder which myth she’ll do next? Oedipus from Jocasta’s POV? Lysistrata?

So I read this late, and needed a lot of breaks in the beginning because, while beautiful, the writing is just so gloomy. Also, even though this is Miller's interpretation, you kind of know how it is going to end.

Very glad that I stuck with it, because it is a great book. (view spoiler)[
I liked reading the pov of 'ghost' Patroclus after he died at the book's ending, and the idea of him being left alone in a land not his own, unable to rest, was very affecting - I was so anxious, especially knowing how Thetis felt about him.
(hide spoiler)]