Reviews tagging 'War'

Circe by Madeline Miller

439 reviews

hannahbaird2023's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Madeleine Miller has an incredible talent for narrative. Like Song of Achilles, this blew me away.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, and War

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Slavery

shiyuplsloveme's review against another edition

inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I enjoyed this a lot more compared to song of achilles. it's an interesting story with very well fleshed out character development which I felt was lacking in Miller's previous work

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Rape, and Death of parent

Minor: Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and War

thenataly's review against another edition

challenging hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War

voldycat's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Infidelity

Moderate: Violence and War

bekieboo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Fantastic retelling of Circe’s tale. I loved seeing her perspective and watching her mature and stumble through her early years. I felt how different it would be to be a god growing up in their world, but also how similar it is to growing up human. It’s a tale of powerful women, goddesses, and monsters - good and bad and the people and experiences in their life that shaped them. Beautifully written, this book made me nervous, disgusted, proud, and emotional. Circe’s journey out of naïveté and into a powerful witch made me hungry for more similar tales.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Medical content, and Abandonment

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Body horror

Several scenes depicting child birth that are graphic and atypical.

k1booking's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Incest

sappix's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse

Minor: Murder and War

sami_not_sammi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse and Sexism

Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Cannibalism

e_claire_b's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I very much enjoyed Song of Achilles (Miller's previous work) and I enjoyed Circe. Circe as a character is one I wish to explore and learn more about in the original myths. I found her story as an overlooked, neglected, and abused child turning into a powerful witch very poignant. I love the exploration of war and violence, hubris, ambition, gods, and the soft redemptive power of love. The way Miller tells the story of Odysseus is very interesting and at moments uncomfortable (especially in comparison to the songs I've been jamming to on the EPIC soundtrack lol) and it's interesting to compare the themes featured in this book and how it expands on some of the themes explored in Song of Achilles (I love reading multiple books by the same author for this reason)

However, I struggled with this writing. I'm not sure if it's because it's stretched over such a long period of time but despite enjoying the novel I had a hard time finishing it. Particularly on the last 150ish pages. This might be a matter more of personal taste than anything else. Miller does write some very beautiful passages but sometimes I have a hard time following what exactly is going on. This was something I noticed in Song of Achilles, but I think it was more amplified in this novel for some reason. 

Still recommend! I'm glad i read it. Circe was such a personally resonant character to read about. And there are many lines and moments from this work that will stick with me. Just this probably isn't the sort of book I will reread. At least not anytime soon.

(Also loved the little "easter egg" with Medea. God I love the play by Euripedes so much & I love the use of dramatic irony when she meets Circe. What is this a crossover episode???) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, and War

Minor: Animal death and Incest

lanna2000's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow. This one took a while for me to finish but I am so glad to have read it. Even tho it felt intimidating to start the story elegantly flows for a span of centuries. I am very interested in Greek mythology but admittedly don’t know that many stories but reading this gave an interesting twist and context to the existing stories of Circe and Odysseus, as well as the other characters. While there were those painful, sad moments Circes triumphs had me rooting for her happy ending. Def gonna read more on Greek mythology and not just fiction books like this but actual lore intrigues me now, although I read the odyssey in high school. I loved the growth and depth of the characters and how they mimicked much of today’s reality as well with war, bloodlust, and lust for power. Even gods have their faults I guess. Will be reading songs of Achilles now! Also kinda a dope pick for Halloween season! I mean, witches right?? Circe highkey THAT girl and I love it for spooky season!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, and War