01
If you want more Madeline Miller
Circe
Madeline Miller
Why Matchbook recommends it: The witch of Aiaia tells her own story across centuries — the same luminous prose, now giving voice to a misunderstood goddess.
What to read next
Books Like The Song of Achilles
The Song of Achilles retells the Iliad through Patroclus, an exiled prince whose love for Achilles carries him from childhood to the walls of Troy. Readers searching for books like The Song of Achilles usually want Greek myth told from an intimate, overlooked perspective, lyrical prose, a love story you know is doomed from the start and the Trojan War rendered as something deeply human.
Our picks
02
If you loved the Trojan War from inside
The Silence of the Girls
Pat Barker
Why Matchbook recommends it: Briseis, captured and given to Achilles, tells the war from the women's side — the same camp, seen through very different eyes.
03
If you loved Troy's overlooked voices
A Thousand Ships
Natalie Haynes
Why Matchbook recommends it: The women of the Trojan War — goddesses, queens and captives — each tell their part of the story.
04
If you loved myth with deep emotion
Ariadne
Jennifer Saint
Why Matchbook recommends it: The Cretan princess who helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur, and what his promises really cost her.
05
If you loved love between men in the ancient world
The Last of the Wine
Mary Renault
Why Matchbook recommends it: Two young Athenians' devotion during the Peloponnesian War — the classic novel Miller's book is often compared to.
06
If you want the original
The Iliad
Homer (trans. Emily Wilson)
Why Matchbook recommends it: Emily Wilson's clear, modern translation lets you meet Achilles and Patroclus in their source.
07
If you loved a minor figure given a whole life
Lavinia
Ursula K. Le Guin
Why Matchbook recommends it: A barely mentioned princess from the Aeneid narrates her own story — quiet, beautiful and full of fate.
What did you love about The Song of Achilles?
The romance? The characters? The setting? The twists? Tell Matchbook what worked for you — and what didn't — and we'll find your next read.