Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

Circe by Madeline Miller

55 reviews

tabbybabbles's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad slow-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

4.25

Was really well written, but felt slow. Redeemed by the fact that I still couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

poubelleboi's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Alcoholism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and War

ieryka_magic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

clowngirl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape and Self harm

miglena's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Madeline Miller weaves words together so beautifully. Her writing is so poignant and is able to touch depths that people rarely go to. I ached and wept for Circe throughout the whole book and literally cried through 40% of it. 
I finished this book in two sittings, but I would have finished it in one if I didn't have work. I have no doubt I will be coming back to this book again. There are so many quotes that I just want to press into my skin and carry with me. 

This book deals with the concepts of free will, captivity, isolation, feminism, how deeply rooted mysogeny is and how it plays out in our interactions, who is considered good vs evil, and many more. Madeline Miller shapes mythology, action, and romance together to craft this book. It asks us to look within ourselves and reflect. 
I feel lucky to have read this book, it was enthralling and a truly magical experience. 

Here are some quotes I love and keep thinking about:

 
"A golden cage is still a cage"

"I had been old and stern for so long, carved with regrets and years like a monolith. But that was only a shape I had been poured into. I did not have to keep it." 

"Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep." 

"Circe, he says, it will be all right... He does not mean that it does not hurt. He does not mean we are not frightened. Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Slavery and War

Minor: Self harm

hayleyvem's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Self harm, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death and Infidelity

lokiwii's review against another edition

reflective tense slow-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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Murder, and Alcohol

Minor: Incest and Rape

erinlouise7's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death, Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Misogyny, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Colonisation

hanarama's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective slow-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

3.75

The Good:
• Provides new perspective
• Well researched, detailed

The Bad:
• Telling, not showing

You Might Like this if You Like:
• Myths retold
• Witches 

Really powerful retelling. I love the way that Miller connects multiple stories to deliver a cohesive and complete tale of one of the more intriguing figures in Greek mythology: the enchantress, Circe. 

Circe's divinity feels so evident in this story. The connection to figures across years and centuries really drives this home. But additionally, Miller takes pains to differentiate divine ability from witchcraft, which helps to make Circe seem extremely powerful, and a threat to gods and mortals alike. 

My one issue with this book is that it feels much more like Circe is telling the reader about everything years after the fact, rather than allowing the reader to experience Circe's life alongside her. At times, it felt as though very little had happened, despite very many things happening. And the low-key tone occasionally made me drowsy. 

I would have preferred a more active tone, but despite that, I felt like this was an excellent exploration into Circe's character. And it's always great to see female POV retellings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Self harm, Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

taylorrudolph's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious 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

Minor: Rape and Self harm