Why people recommend it
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is a lyrical and moving reimagining of the Iliad that focuses on the deep romance between Achilles and Patroclus. The book received enthusiastic praise and discussion across multiple podcast episodes. Liz Egan recommended the novel on The Book Review, calling it a wonderful and deeply engaging retelling of the classic myth. Gilbert Cruz and Pamela Paul both discussed the author's career trajectory, noting how this phenomenal bestselling debut paved the way for her subsequent success with Cersei. Alexandra Alter and Elizabeth Harris highlighted the book as a remarkable publishing phenomenon, noting how it achieved massive resurgence and sold millions of copies years after publication thanks to the vibrant online community known as BookTok. Harris specifically mentioned speaking with the book's editor about how an epic centered on ancient Greek poetry captured the modern imaginations of millions of young readers. These discussions illustrated how the novel successfully bridged classical literature with contemporary popular culture, turning an ancient myth into a modern emotional touchstone for a massive global audience of enthusiastic fans.
Who recommended it
- Alexandra Alter Discussed
- Gilbert Cruz Discussed
- Pamela Paul Discussed
- Liz Egan Recommended
- Elizabeth Harris Discussed
Alexandra Alter — 2 mentions
“a couple of the examples that Liz noted were the song of Achilles by meline Miller which is a fantastic novel but it's been out for years”
“if you look at the song of Achilles by malan Miller it retells the Greek myth of Achilles as a romance between him and patrias”
Gilbert Cruz — 1 mention
“But you probably know her from her best-selling novels, The Song of Achilles and Cersei, which reimagine the ancient source material in the Iliad and the Odyssey.”
Pamela Paul — 1 mention
“her first novel was the song of Achilles and it was a huge bestseller Cersei has become one as well”
Liz Egan — 1 mention
“my recommendation is song of Achilles by meline Miller it is the story of Petras and achiles and it is wonderful”
Elizabeth Harris — 1 mention
“the song of Achilles which uh came out in 2012 and is a love story between Achilles and Petras has now sold two million copies because of book talk which is amazing because as its editor said to me this is a book about The Iliad and it just so million copies”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- An American Marriage
- Beautiful World, Where Are You
- Circe
- Conversations With Friends
- David Copperfield
- Demon Copperhead
Other mentions (2: passing, ad reads, own books)
“And the first hits that that came out of BookTok were actually old books. Um Song of Achilles from 2011,”
“she is a former Classics professor and she wrote the song of Achilles that was her debut which was a a novelization of The Iliad”