Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Circe by Madeline Miller

154 reviews

joey_estrada's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It was cool to see so many different myths from Circe's perspective. Her character development was very interesting. At certain points, it almost felt like each chapter was a short story told by Circe. The ending was very poetic and I think it wrapped everything up nicely.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Misogyny, Rape, and Grief

Minor: Child death and War

gabbyeleene's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Child death and Death

Minor: Animal death, Incest, and War

oplu's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

emlawley's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I listened to this book in stages as it is intense due to the subject matter, but I enjoyed it a lot. I don’t know much about Greek history and mythology but had heard good things about this retelling as it centred Circe and other often-sidelined female characters in history. As expected, there are some very difficult and upsetting scenes. Fascinating, thought-provoking and important.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Murder

tiffanyg's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Minor: Child death

singalana's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I thought giving both the Song of Achilles and Circe five stars was impossible, but I’m glad I was proven wrong!

Madeline Miller specialises in Greek mythology retellings. She takes her time writing her books, and it shows. In Miller’s hands, what might sound like a strange and simply outlandish children’s tale turns into something organic, like the laws of nature. Now, she tells the story of Circe - most people remember her as the witch who turned Odysseus’ men into swine. But she is so much more than that, as Miller shows.

The characters are familiar from Greek mythology. Gods and mortal men all turn into something extraordinary in Miller’s hands, each with distinctive personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. Circe’s story is full of scheming, hubris, vengeance, and love. Sometimes, I had to peek at the next chapter just to find out what happened and what to expect before continuing the story. Very few books have the power to do that. 

I marvel at Miller’s writing style: every sentence is crafted beautifully. There are bits of dialogue I want to read over and over again because the words and the message behind them are so masterfully delivered. 

But what decided the rating for me was the ending. So be warned, spoilers ahead!

Spoilers!

Madeline Miller knows when to follow the source material and when to divert from it. And I’m glad she did because the book ends on a sad yet hopeful note. In the original mythos, Odysseus and Circe have many children together, and Telemachus eventually kills Circe. But Miller’s ending gives Circe the ending she deserves.

And the cover art is gorgeous. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

d12inspiration's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Pregnancy

The process of childbirth is described twice in great detail.

hyuneybear's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

kayceeisbookish's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

savmiller's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Rape