Historical fiction · Similar reads
Books like The Song of Achilles
The best books like The Song of Achilles are Circe, War and Peace, and All Quiet on the Western Front. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is about love and devotion, glory and mortality, war's cost. If that's what drew you in, here are 12 books that share its DNA — each summarized on Superbook, and ready to chat with in the app.
- Circe
01
Madeline Miller · Fantasy
Circe is the daughter of Helios, god of the sun, but she inherits neither divine radiance nor power — only a human voice that embarrasses her immortal family.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - War and Peace
02
Leo Tolstoy · Literary fiction
War and Peace follows five aristocratic Russian families across fifteen years of Napoleonic war and peace, from the drawing rooms of St.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - All Quiet on the Western Front
03
All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque · History
All Quiet on the Western Front follows Paul Bäumer, a young German soldier who enlists with his classmates during the First World War after being swept up in patriotic speeches.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - The Things They Carried
04
Tim O'Brien · Memoir
Tim O'Brien served as a foot soldier in Vietnam in 1969 and 1970.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - The Hero with a Thousand Faces
05
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Joseph Campbell · Philosophy
The Hero with a Thousand Faces, first published in 1949, is Joseph Campbell's account of the monomyth — his term for the single underlying story structure that, he argues, appears across the world's mythologies, folk tales, and religious narratives.
A kindred historical fiction read.
Read the summary → - A Fatal Grace
06
Louise Penny · Mystery
A Fatal Grace is the second novel in Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, set in the fictional Quebec village of Three Pines.
Both dig into grief.
Read the summary → - A Grief Observed
- A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
08
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
Dave Eggers · Memoir
Dave Eggers's debut memoir about losing both parents to cancer within five weeks and raising his younger brother Toph while trying to start a literary magazine in San Francisco in the mid-1990s arrived in 2000 with unusual self-consciousness about its own nature.
Both dig into grief.
Read the summary → - Beach Read
09
Emily Henry · Contemporary fiction
January Andrews is a romance novelist who has completely lost faith in love after discovering her late father had a secret mistress for years.
Both dig into grief.
Read the summary → - Crying in H Mart
10
Michelle Zauner · Memoir
Crying in H Mart is Michelle Zauner's memoir of her mother's death from cancer and the loss it made her confront: not just of a parent but of the Korean half of her identity.
Both dig into grief.
Read the summary → - Klara and the Sun
11
Kazuo Ishiguro · Literary fiction
Klara and the Sun is narrated by Klara, an Artificial Friend — a solar-powered robot companion sold to children in a near-future society where genetic enhancement and economic stratification have created a new class system.
Both dig into love and devotion.
Read the summary → - Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
12
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone
Lori Gottlieb · Memoir
Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist who, after a sudden and shattering breakup, found herself in therapy of her own.
Both dig into grief.
Read the summary →
Books like The Song of Achilles: quick answers
What are the best books like The Song of Achilles?
The best books like The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller are Circe by Madeline Miller, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, plus 7 more below. Each was chosen for themes it shares with The Song of Achilles, such as love and devotion, glory and mortality, war's cost.
What should I read after The Song of Achilles?
A natural next read after The Song of Achilles is Circe by Madeline Miller. A kindred historical fiction read. Other strong choices are War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien.
What books are similar to The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller?
The Song of Achilles centers on love and devotion, glory and mortality, war's cost. Books with a similar feel include Circe by Madeline Miller, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny — all free to read and chat with on Superbook.
