With the new year comes new books! The Song of Achilles is a book that retells the story of the Trojan war from the perspective of Patroclus, focusing on his deep, romantic relationship with the legendary Greek hero Achilles. Although this novel came out in 2011, Burke just recently got this book this year and it’s ready to be checked out by Burke students for a good read!

“The reason I love this book so much is that it truly tells the story of the tragic love story between Achilles and Patroclus, and how the death of a loved one can destroy ones ability to see straight, and how history will cover stories like these up because it doesn’t fit how they see the past”. Tanya Lopez said

It seems that the book perfectly captures the doomed love story while also shedding light on the power grieving a loved one has on a person and how it can truly change someone’s life.

“I loved it because of the inherent tragedies it. Achilles loving Patroclus and vice versus, Patroclus knowing that the person he loves is doomed to be the martyr of humanity and ultimately Patroclus dies wearing Achilles armor, mistaken for a god and stuck down for daring to be one and just the Sadness of such devotion while knowing you’ll never have a happy ending.” Jules Johnstan said

With book so full of tragedy and death it sure is easy to find the beauty in being able to love so much that you hurt to such an extent. The Song of Achilles, a book that will probably leave you crying but glad because you got to imagine a story where love is the strongest feeling. Based on reviews it’s safe to say The Song of Achilles is a book worth reading.

“Though Achilles was a man of power and fortune born to be the next king, we were told that he would throw all of that away if it meant he book see his lover once again. A line that I truly love from this book is “he is half of my soul as the poets say”, and I feel like that line truly puts into perspective how much these two men loved each-other that the poets have written about them” Lopez said.