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A review by feliciatarantino
Circe by Madeline Miller
4.0
Circe was a book that I had wanted to read for such a long time, and even tried to read back in 2019, but just never seemed to come upon it when I had the time or patience to devote to such a story. But I recently had the chance to read this and although it took me a month to complete, I'm so glad I finally just sat down and stuck to it!
Circe follows the goddess of the same name, as she endures loneliness and detachment throughout her immortal life. Born to the god of the sun and a nymph, she is isolated as a child and when her solitude leads her to drastic measure, she is exiled to Aiaia. There, she hones her powers as a witch and brushes shoulders with legendary gods and goddesses and mortals alike, who pass through her island over the centuries of her expulsion.
I've never been huge on Greek mythology, but I had enough knowledge going into this to connect the dots of this adult retelling. I really enjoyed reading Circe's story, the way she matured over the course of the novel and how Madeline Miller filled in the blanks. While it wasn't an action-driven story, I found that it (mostly) kept a good pace and the interaction of the different characters made it so multidimensional and utterly fascinating.
After reading Circe, I'm even more excited to read Song of Achilles, which I've heard incredible things about!
Circe follows the goddess of the same name, as she endures loneliness and detachment throughout her immortal life. Born to the god of the sun and a nymph, she is isolated as a child and when her solitude leads her to drastic measure, she is exiled to Aiaia. There, she hones her powers as a witch and brushes shoulders with legendary gods and goddesses and mortals alike, who pass through her island over the centuries of her expulsion.
I've never been huge on Greek mythology, but I had enough knowledge going into this to connect the dots of this adult retelling. I really enjoyed reading Circe's story, the way she matured over the course of the novel and how Madeline Miller filled in the blanks. While it wasn't an action-driven story, I found that it (mostly) kept a good pace and the interaction of the different characters made it so multidimensional and utterly fascinating.
After reading Circe, I'm even more excited to read Song of Achilles, which I've heard incredible things about!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Vomit