Reviews - კირკე | The StoryGraph

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74.4k reviews for:

კირკე

Madeline Miller

4.25 AVERAGE

per_aspera_ad_astra's review against another edition

5.0

This book was exquisite. That is the only word I can use to describe it

literatia's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Writing 🌟: Madeline Miller's writing is as enchanting as Circe's spells, and I found myself unable to put this book down because of it. Her command of language is so powerful and fluid, and her storytelling ability profound and gripping.

Plot 🌟 : Whilst the basic plot was obviously already set out for Miller to work with, she fleshes Circe's story out beautifully. Circe's life as an immortal is a long one, and yet it never feels drawn out or tiresome to hear of her tales. On the contrary, the adventures are woven into Circe's character development, and because of this the narrative flows so smoothly.

Characters 🌟 : The eponymous sorceress is cast in such a different light to in the original texts, and yet we can believe that there is much more to her than we were originally given and that Miller is now revealing to us. Some of the supporting characters felt a little one dimensional, but given that there is such a large cast of characters that feels understandable. Those that we get to spend time with are believable and it doesn't feel like a jarring departure from what they might have been like had we gotten to spend more time with them in the original texts.

Enjoyability 🌟 : I flew through this book - it was accessible and enjoyable, and I feel much better informed on the adventures and characters within Greek mythology.

World Engagement 🌟 : Considering the majority of the book is spent in one place, Miller still did a great job at building up both the mortal and immortal worlds these characters live in. You can feel how grand yet devoid of feeling the Gods' halls are, and can feel Circe's isolation in Aiaia. You can tell that there is still so much more of the world for the characters to discover and learn about, which just makes the story all the more poignant.