Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.”
Anyone who knows me will tell you I absolutely love mythology, any period, any country. I especially love an artful retelling. They are difficult to find but this one definitely deserves to join their ranks.
The thing that brings this whole novel together is Circe’s character. She is a woman who has done awful, evil things, and yet remains unfailingly, unflinchingly human. She is lonely, harsh and hiding herself in sarcasm much of the time. Yet there is not a moment in this novel in which I didn’t adore her. Madeline Miller does such an amazing job developing this character, weaving her thoughts into the narrative without manipulating you into feeling a certain way, keeping the narrative wide yet keeping it focused around Circe. Throughout this novel I developed such a deep level of admiration for both this author and this character, this character I’m sure will stay with me forever.
This novel is so interesting because at its core, it is an exploration of the voice of women in Greek mythology. Circe is a character we see nothing of in the narrative of Greek mythology, a character with seemingly evil intentions and little motivation – and all this despite showing up in several different stories. There’s something supremely excellent about seeing a character like this who is essentially a plot device be given a story. I absolutely love giving characters who have been given no agency the agency they deserve.
I mean, everything about this book was just brilliant. The prose was just sparkling. I loved seeing how the different mythology joined together creating a flowing river of cause and effect difficult to see in the short single story. I also loved the myth interpretation: Penelope and Odysseus are both written perfectly, and seeing Jason basically get called an asshole while Medea stood on being young and morally grey and in love was so fantastic. The exploration of gods vs. mortals is just brilliant:
You cannot know how frightened gods are of pain. There is nothing more foreign to them, and so nothing they ache more deeply to see.The terrible beauty of the gods was beautifully conveyed. I don’t think I have read a book that has conveyed the gods to be so inhuman. Madeline makes a point to show that the God aren’t human, they don’t feel like humans, nor do they desire the same things. They are almost the distilled values of humans. All our vices and beauty heightened, without our softening complexity.
I loved the relationships — just as a special note, the relationship between Circe and Telegonus made me want to cry. I so enjoyed the bittersweet motherly love. Many books don’t show the reality, that sometimes your child is not what you expected, the relationship didn’t work out perfectly but you still have to love them and would do anything for them. Exploring this complexity was done with subtly and masterfully.
Not an uplifting book. Sad and leaves you with a sense of heaviness. Not something I think I would read again.
Age Rating 15. There is a rape scene and quite a bit of sex. Most of it happens off screen or is described through a fog of confusion so is never explicit.
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