Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Circe

A lyrical meditation on mortality through the eyes of an immortal, Circe reclaims the myth of the oft-maligned sorceress from The Odyssey through a wry, feminist lens. Madeline Miller’s prose is stunning, evoking the flow and emotional range of classical poetry with all the accessibility of modern English. Through Circe’s eyes, Miller narrates some thousand years of Greek mythology – precise to the letter – with unstinting honesty and keen insight. The gruesome realities of wartime choices, the vices and follies of revered mythical heroes, and the self-serving avarice of the gods are all laid bare in 385 pages. Despite the scope of the book’s content, most of it reads quickly and engagingly, though in some sections it slows to the point of near-tedium. Plumbing the boundless depths of Circe’s grief is not for the faint of heart, as I learned, a great deal of my own nature and loneliness having come to light in the process. I now consider Circe one of the crown jewels of my bookshelf. From its intricate, melancholic tale arises a beautiful reflection on the meaning of a fleeting mortal life that is timeless without being clichéd.

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koiolee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.75

I can't say why this isn't a 5 star read for me, but it just didn't feel like a 5 star read. Usually when I think that it's actually because theres no diversity or whatever, but this book is really only about Circe, so there's no point in diversity because only a few people come to her island in the first place.
ANYWAYS This book was fantastic. I love the way Miller writes and it's so captivating. I love the way Miller picks the characters that are mentioned but don't actually get the limelight in the classical tales. I've been told people either love or hate this book, and I'm on the love it side. Circe is painted as a docile goddess who gets taken advantage of and pushed too far too often. She learns to wear violence as a shield as shes seen and picked up from other gods and nymphs often. I liked the way this story ends where she finally accepts and becomes her truest self, not the goddess, but a mortal witch Circe. I love that for her.

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paitynak's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

3.5

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bee_ayy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

Pros of this book: it is beautifully written. Madeline Miller's style of writing is eloquent and rich with detail and for the first fifty percent of this book I thought it was going to be a five star read.

Which just makes it all the more disappointing that halfway through this book seems to switch tack. As soon as Oddyseus shows up I started having problems with this book. Circe no longer felt like the main character anymore. The focus shifted to Oddyseus and the war and recounting all his heroic adventures and I could not have cared less about that.

It also annoyed me that for what is clearly meant to be feminist literature Circe has virtually zero meaningful relationships with any other women, only men.

You are better off to stop reading this book after she turns the men into pigs, every thing after that is disappointing and uninteresting.

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felofhe's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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saskiahill's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.5

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crowcrow's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad

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

4.0

As always Madeline Miller delivers. Her writing style is a delight, it's comforting and you can tell she puts a lot of work into it. I was absolutely captivated the moment I started reading, Circe was such a compelling character no matter where she was. I was rooting for her the entire time. The side characters were also compelling, I was particularly excited to see Odysseus, but I was surprised how interest she made the others too. I think the book's best quirk was the complexity between all of Circe's relationships, it was so fun to read.

I'd also like to give it props for how it portrayed SA. I was afraid that it would change Circe's completely, completely rewriting her to be weak and scared, but no! It was handled extremely well! I like that it shows that trauma doesn't need to tie you down. I appreciate it!

All that aside I was extremely disappointed in the ending.

I found it morbid that Circe hooked up with Telemachus. Y'know? Her past lover's son. Icks all over the floor and sky. Wtf? Why was that necessary. And the daydreams she had of them having kids? Yuck, no.

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kds247's review against another edition

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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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