There is a real pleasure in the unexpected details-the time Achilles and Patroclus spend with each other, the quieter interactions with other characters, the setting, and the way that the supernatural features. Miller does an excellent job of tempering your knowledge of what will happen with a real joy in the moments leading up to that foreseen climax, filling her characters with just the right amounts of doubt and surety.
The two grow up together, learn together, and finally, inevitably, go to war together. He is an unusual main character in that he rarely speaks about his own strengths at all, preferring to cast the poorest possible light on himself in favor of praising Achilles. The Song of Achilles is told from the perspective of Patroclus, Achilles' lover and constant companion, beginning with Patroclus's childhood. Miller is a master of making even the simplest moments compelling and lovely, and her take on some of the most important scenes from the Iliad are even more compelling. This is a lyrical, brilliant book, all the more impressive for being a debut novel.
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