Jessica’s Comments (group member since Apr 17, 2018)

Jessica’s comments from the The Song of Achilles Readalong group.

Hi everyone! Today is May 31 and the official last day of our readalong. I've absolutely loved the discussions here and it sounds like most readers enjoyed the book to some degree, so that's a nice added bonus.

I wanted especially to say thank you to you all for joining the group and participating in the discussion. My intention is to film a video in the next week or so wrapping things up, but I wanted to take a minute here and say a dedicated thank you to the group. It's been a lot of fun.

Happy reading!
Jessica

I'm switching back to this thread as I'm reading and I wanted to add a thought about whether this book is YA or not, and since I went into this re-read with that question sort of in mind, I found it interesting to come across this quote early on in the book:

"Some people might have mistaken this for simplicity. But is it not a sort of genius to cut always to the heart?" (page 44 in my edition)

I thought this summed up my feelings about the issue entirely. The writing is definitely simple, and it could easily be read by a younger audience, but I feel pretty strongly that there is a tension and a subtly to the writing that would be lost on a YA audience. And I don't mean that as a criticism of teen readers AT ALL. I just think there is a maturity to the writing and the story and that while the book could easily be read by younger readers, the real punch of the story would be lost.

As a secondary note, I always find that this style of writing echoes the simplicity of oral storytelling which is what all of this is based on. It somehow makes it feel more authentic to my brain.

I'm commenting on both the Spoiler-free and Spoiler threads at the same time since this is a re-read, and I'm just loving the discussions here.

One thing I'm finding really interesting is the discussion of this as a young adult novel. On my first reading, the thought never even crossed my mind, and so now I'm excited to read it again with this in mind and see where I land on things. I'm not sure if it's just because of their ages, or if there is something more to the story that is leading to the YA notation.

I finally started the book again guys! I'm not very far in yet, but it's feeling very comfortable to me and just like the first time I read it, it's grabbed me right away. I'll continue to post thoughts as I have them!

Hi everyone! I'm loving the comments so far but need to make a confession! (more on the next YouTube video...) I haven't been reading! Not this, not ANYTHING. My sleep schedule has been so messed up this past week so I'm just trying to get back on track. But I do remember how readable the writing style was and it was a style I really enjoyed, so I'm hoping to get started on this tonight and at least make a tiny dent. I've read and enjoyed The Iliad before, so I was familiar with the story, but never studied it formally or anything, but I agree with Susannah that my enjoyment I think is greater because I already had some background in it. Happy reading!

Hi everyone! It's May 1! I've decided to also participate in the One Readathon to Rule Them All as well, but will be getting started on this tonight as well. Hope you're all well and ready to dive in!

To everyone here who is a booktuber I'm not subscribed to, thanks for leaving a message with your channel name! I'm on my way over there to subscribe!

I thought it might be a nice idea to have a place where we could introduce ourselves! Obviously I'm Jessica, and if you've made it here via a method other than my YouTube readalong, welcome! I am a public librarian living and working in Canada, and I am OBSESSED with Madeline Miller. So happy this re-read is finally happening for me!

Feel free to discuss anything about the book here!

Please keep this thread SPOILER-FREE! Feel free to discuss general themes of the book, writing style, etc., but keep major plot discussions for the SPOILER thread!