Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Circe by Madeline Miller

244 reviews

clovetra's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

oh that was delectable.

ok so i will admit. i am a baby greek mythology consumer. before this i knew barely anything - i knew of the minotaur, and “read” the odyssey last year (no i didn’t i got 30 pages in and closed it and then pretended i read it for my year 12 literature class…. i ate that essay up)

anyways i can solemnly say this book has actually turned me into a greek mythology lover. wow did i love the way miller wrote.

her writing seems to have this lyrical quality of it that seems like she herself is immortal, like circe. honestly i could read her work for days.

also the way she made some stories beginner friendly? chefs kiss.

i was so enthralled in circe’s life, i couldn’t stop thinking about her. granted my insanity for the twilight series was unmatched, but i have banned myself from twilight for a while. and in the meantime circe has taken its place in my noggin.

god i cant gush about this book enough

now the question is…. why is it only a four star?

i found this so ooo ooo o fucking hard to read for like the first 150 pages. not because it’s boring! oh no! because it reads like i’m trying to read an untranslated bible. granted it works for the book! if it was written any other way i would be a little bitch about it! but the reason i dnf’d the odyssey wasn’t because i was bored, but because the writing style was like trying to read 30 layers of subtext in one sentence. this book had less of that, but i would spent ages reading a page. i’d say i’m a quick reader, but genuinely i would spend 5 minutes on each page. like just having to wrap my head around some of the phrasing being used made my noggin want to explode. i think over time i will get used to it if i keep reading books in this same style (is style the right word idk), but for this being my first book of its kind it was a doozy!

anyways shout out to medea what a bad bitch.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical trauma, and War

jodean's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Slavery

bel017's review against another edition

 CW for rape (but she had a reason to turns men to pigs, so what did you expect?). I know very little of Greek mythology, so the story was news to me. It was great to see a woman at the center of her own story, and that Miller didn't shy away from the difficult parts. There's a fierce kind of joy in the attempt to take ownership of her own life. Well written, intense and engaging. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny and Rape

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Murder, and Abandonment

bookstackbecca's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I loved this Greek tale a lot. It was beautifully written. A character I had never truly known much about came to life, her story had me standing alongside her mixing herbs for her spells, understanding her griefs and her triumphs. Circe was such an outstanding read. Definitely worth it, it may seem slow to some but the pacing was spot on for a book that tells a classic greek tragedy is such a fresh way 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, and Grief

freddie_o's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War

geesmu's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Violence, and Murder

miilk's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

ally1994's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-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

I personally loved Circe better than The Song of Achilles. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the Song of Achilles but I just related more to Circe.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

jhbandcats's review

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad 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

5.0

A beautiful book about the need to be loved and the difference between loneliness and solitude, this story begins in Circe’s childhood and, as she’s immortal, ends after hundreds of generations.  We follow her from the halls of the gods to the island home she shares with wild animals when she’s exiled after angering Zeus. 

Circe makes a life for herself collecting herbs and plants for witchcraft and weaving on the unusual loom that was a gift from Daedalus. She has few encounters with humans and immortals, and her reputation as a fearsome witch grows. Any who challenge her spend the rest of their days in a sty looking at fellow pigs. 

The author is able to craft an interesting character study where there’s little interaction with other people. I was initially put off by the almost juvenile storytelling till I realized that, as she’d just been born, Circe was indeed quite juvenile. As she matured, so did the writing style and so did my appreciation of the talented author. I hope she continues to rewrite Greek myths. She expands on stories I learned in my youth and I want more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Rape, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

ashfrxns's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective relaxing 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

4.25

A gone girl se ela tivesse um final feliz

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Deportation

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Incest, Infidelity, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Emotional abuse