Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Circe by Madeline Miller

222 reviews

riv_erb's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Sexism, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death, Misogyny, and Confinement

torismazarine's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, War, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Confinement, and Infidelity

snips17's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Confinement, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Sexism

Moderate: War, Rape, Gaslighting, Grief, Physical abuse, and Torture

tadiwa_e's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Madeline Miller's "Circe" skill-fully weaves subtle hints of feminism into the narrative, empowering the character of Circe. Her ability to find beauty in the brutal reality of human existence adds a poignant layer to the story. 

Circe's journey to discover and appreciate the hidden beauty within herself resonates as a powerful exploration of self-discovery. Miller's nuanced approach to these themes adds depth and complexity to the novel, making it a compelling read for those who appreciate a thought-provoking blend of mythology and introspection.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Sexism, Abandonment, and Infidelity

maisie_leigh27's review against another edition

adventurous reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexism, and Violence

abdog360's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Murder, Death of parent, and Sexism

wogslandwriter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

The epic and endless life of a goddess distilled into a beautiful story that makes sense to us mortals. Miller does an amazing job communicating complex emotions and complicated topics without preaching. The first person narration lends the story an intimate feel and Miller leans heavily on the idea that Circe, herself, is telling us the story of her past to excellent effect and emotional impact. The novel feels and reads like an intimate literary novel while still being solidly founded in the fantasy and mythology of the Circe mythos. Overall, it was an excellent read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Sexism, Gore, Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, War, and Slavery

Minor: Torture, Animal death, and Xenophobia

Circe is raped at one point by sailors who visit her island. It is not described in explicit detail, but it is not actively shied away from either. Immediately afterwards, she murders the man who did it and his friends.

sandanina's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

After not reading a single book for over 10 years, this was a delightful reintroduction to the literary world. Not too long and neither too short, it's a beautiful retelling of the life of the goddess Circe, one that adds much dimension to the old Greek tales and does not dull down the cruelty and complexity of the gods. At many points I was fully immersed, as the writing is so beautiful. Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Torture, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

eliya's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative mysterious reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.5

Loved this book. This one felt similar to Matrix by Lauren Goff just the way it followed a woman through her life, I loved that. I wasn’t expecting the book to keep growing, but it did. The last chapter was delicious and

made me hope to live again. I have been feeling idk less than thrilled to be alive, but I will swim in the words she wrote so beautifully about savoring growing old. I can’t wait to grow old with my beautiful love.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: War, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Blood, and Sexism

Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, and Death of parent

abicaro17's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-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

4.25

I really enjoyed this book! I think getting to know Circe more intimately and engaging in her story as one piece instead of the fragments created an engaging and creative 400 pages. Circe is both likable and unlikable, blunt and evasive, rude and considerate, caring and unfeeling, and selfish and selfless. She evolves from a naive doormat into a strong and wise witch. I wish I could give this 5 stars but it falls flat for me. I didn't need a battle or a death but I feel like the disconnect from other characters and how flat everyone else seemed made it hard to care about the ending. I dislike comparing books (especially when they aren't actually connected) but, after reading Millers other greek retelling, this feels like an emotional let down. Not sure if my expectations were too high or if this just didn't deliver. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Violence, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, War, Medical content, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexism, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Gore, and Toxic relationship