The Song of Achilles
by Madeline Miller
A retelling of the Trojan War through the love between Achilles and Patroclus. Lyrical, tragic, and a gateway to Greek myth. Read the full description
Best for: Readers who like myth and lyrical prose
The Song of Achilles is #86 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 52 out of 100.
The Song of Achilles: reading interest over the past 12 months
Sources: Open Library’s public reading-log and ratings data (dump of 2026-08-31), Wikipedia page views and Wikidata. Monthly counts are exact; they show relative interest among readers of these public sources, not total readership.
Ranked against the other books on this list, The Song of Achilles’s reading interest has run from #59 to #88 over these 12 months. Interest rank blends shelf adds, Wikipedia page views and rating activity, each compared with the other 99 books that month.
Shelf adds by month
The Song of Achilles was added to Open Library readers’ shelves 380 times in the past 12 months, peaking in September 2025 with 55 (74% above its monthly average of 32). Over the latest three months (Jun 2026 to Aug 2026) shelf adds were down 9% on the three months before. 87% of the adds were “want to read”, 6% “currently reading” and 7% “already read”.
Want to read Currently reading Already read
Wikipedia page views
Its Wikipedia article was viewed 432,723 times in the past 12 months, peaking in July 2026 with 81,876 views. The latest three months were up 88% on the three before.
Source: Wikimedia monthly page views for the article The Song of Achilles.
Awards and honours listed on Wikidata: Women's Prize for Fiction.
What the data says about The Song of Achilles
- Moderate swings. Monthly shelf adds averaged 32 with some ups and downs.
- Busiest and quietest months. September 2025 was its busiest month (55 adds), about 3.7 times its quietest, August 2026 (15).
- Attention and shelf adds move independently. Its Wikipedia views and its shelf adds did not rise and fall together over these 12 months (correlation -0.28).
- Ratings above the list’s middle. Its Open Library average of 4.29 from 140 ratings is 0.17 higher than the middle book on the list (4.12).
- Against its genre. It had 62% fewer shelf adds than the average Fantasy book on this list.
- Share of the list. It accounts for 0.4% of all shelf adds recorded for the Top 100 over these 12 months, #90 of 100.
- Its age. First published in 2011 (15 years ago), it is older than 38% of the books on the list.
Each finding is computed from the public data above and shown only when the numbers support it.
The Song of Achilles on the Top 100: rank history
First charted in September 2026. The chart gains a point with every monthly update, so its peak, climbs and falls will show here as they happen.
| Month | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | #86 | 52 |
Is The Song of Achilles rising or falling?
Cooling It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level.
On Open Library, The Song of Achilles ranks outside the top 200 this week, #163 this month, and #162 over the past year. A longer bar means a higher position. Comparing the three windows shows whether readers are arriving faster than the book's long-term pace. Readings as of 2026-09-30.
Why The Song of Achilles made the Top 100
The Song of Achilles made the list mainly on reader love (+17.8 points) and being read right now (+15.1 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0). The BookWard Score blends five public signals, each scored from 0 to 100 and weighted as shown.
The reading-now, rating and rank signals come from Open Library’s public data, not from BookWard’s own readers. The score measures reading interest, not quality or sales. How the score works.
Open Library reader stats for The Song of Achilles
Source: Open Library public reading logs, as of 2026-09-30. BookWard’s own monthly snapshots are added to the picture, and anonymous BookWard reader data will be layered in as the community grows.
More readers have The Song of Achilles open right now than 30% of the other books on this list. These counts come from one public source, so they show relative interest rather than total readership.
Where it sits among Fantasy books
It is #9 of the 10 Fantasy books on this month’s list.
About The Song of Achilles
A retelling of the Trojan War through the love between Achilles and Patroclus. Lyrical, tragic, and a gateway to Greek myth.
Why it’s here: It is the book that turned many readers on to mythology retellings.
Best for: Readers who like myth and lyrical prose
At a glance
- First published
- 2011
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Also described as
- historical fiction, retelling, mythology
- Length
- about 386 pages (the median across its editions)
- Original language
- English
- Languages
- editions in 11 languages listed on Open Library
- Editions
- 43 on Open Library
- Setting
- Phthia, Troy
- Characters listed
- Achilles, Patroclus, Chiron
- Awards and honours
- Women's Prize for Fiction
From Open Library and Wikidata public records. Missing rows mean the records do not list that fact.
Themes
- Love and fate
- Greek myth
- Glory and loss
What reading it is like
Lyrical, tragic retelling based on the Iliad.
At about 386 pages it is a longer read: roughly 8 hours at an average reading pace (about 250 words a minute, 300 words a page). Audiobook and edition lengths vary.
Good to know
Contains war violence and a tragic ending.
The premise
Patroclus, an exiled prince, becomes the companion of the great warrior Achilles. Their bond grows as the Trojan War approaches and fate closes in.
What you’ll get
- A lyrical love story
- Greek mythology retold
- An emotional ending
You might skip it if you dislike tragedy.
Pairs well with: The Lightning Thief · A Little Life
Keep exploring the chart
Also on the chart at #85 and #87
Questions about The Song of Achilles
What rank is The Song of Achilles on the Top 100 books?
The Song of Achilles is #86 on BookWard's Top 100 books for September 2026, with a BookWard Score of 52 out of 100.
Is The Song of Achilles rising or falling?
Cooling. It ranks lower this week than over the past year, so interest is softening from its recent level. On Open Library, The Song of Achilles ranks outside the top 200 this week, #163 this month, and #162 over the past year.
Why is The Song of Achilles on the Top 100?
The Song of Achilles made the list mainly on reader love (+17.8 points) and being read right now (+15.1 points). Its smallest contribution is rising (+0).
How many people are reading The Song of Achilles right now?
Open Library's reading logs show 190 readers currently reading The Song of Achilles, 3,350 who want to read it and 257 who have logged it as read (as of 2026-09-30). These are counts from one public source, not all readers.
How much interest has The Song of Achilles had over the past year?
380 Open Library shelf adds in the past 12 months (peak September 2025, 55); latest three months down 9% on the prior three; 432,723 Wikipedia views in the past 12 months (up 88% over the latest three months). Figures come from Open Library and Wikipedia public data.
Who is The Song of Achilles best for?
Readers who like myth and lyrical prose.
Ask a question about The Song of Achilles
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How we know
This page is built from public data: Open Library’s dated reading-log and ratings dumps, Wikipedia page views, Wikidata, and BookWard’s own monthly Top 100 snapshots. The interest rank blends shelf adds (45%), Wikipedia page views (30%), rating activity (10%) and, for months where a snapshot exists, BookWard’s own score (15%), each as a percentile among the Top 100 books. Every month shown is real data; nothing is estimated. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Last updated September 2026. Read the full methodology.
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