Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Circe by Madeline Miller

46 reviews

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

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

kelisabeth's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

willoughby's review

adventurous hopeful inspiring mysterious relaxing 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Medical content, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

iluvshelby's review

Very boring and slow plot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, and War

caitlinemccann's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death and Cannibalism

janey_bones's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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? No

5.0

I loved this book so much 😭

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, and Cannibalism

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Misogyny, Rape, Slavery, Murder, and Pregnancy

emberise's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.0

I came pretty close to crying at the end, and that doesn't happen very often.

Makes for difficult reading at times and some parts feel a little blunt, but overall a good retelling of myth that brings a humanity to the stories (even if the POV character isn't human).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Murder

Moderate: Rape, Cannibalism, and War

Minor: Child death and Incest

kds247's review against another edition

adventurous reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.25

This book doesn’t have much of a plot but the descriptiveness of it is just stunning. The writing feels like a warm blanket and even though some horrible things happen in this book, Circe’s inner monologue is gorgeous. Miller can really capture thoughts and emotions perfectly onto a page

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Murder, and War

Minor: Torture and Injury/Injury detail

anniover's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Cannibalism, and War