October’s Bookshelf by the Sea 

Legacy and Identity Intertwine in The Song of Achilles: A Review 

Written by Emerson Rogers ’26  

I read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This novel is a retelling of the complicated lives and romance of Patroclus and Achilles, popular and well-known figures in Greek mythology. I chose this book because I really enjoyed Circe by Madeline Miller and other stories of Greek mythology. I felt connected to the characters in this novel like no other story I had read before. I laughed, loved, and cried through the twisted, complex emotional rollercoaster that I shared with these characters. I watched as Patroclus and Achilles met at the age of ten as complete strangers and then grew up together, learning to find themselves in their lives, and eventually learning to love one another.  

I don’t know if I will find a book that will have the effect that The Song of Achilles had on me again. I reflected in ways I never had on the meaning of memory and heroism as we know it, what it means to leave a legacy, and how to love without losing yourself. The Song of Achilles will stick with me. I still think about it every day and I believe I’ve learned a lot about myself through this novel. 

Emerson Rogers ’26 is a boarding student from Bourne, Massachusetts. Out of the classroom, she participates in Girls Varsity Soccer, Winter Sessions, and Track and Field. Her favorite genre to read is dystopian, and the best text she has read for/in a Tabor English class thus far is Circe by Madeline Miller. Fun fact: Her favorite word is “aurora!”