Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Circe by Madeline Miller

79 reviews

abicaro17's review

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

peachani's review

challenging dark 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Body horror, Grief, Confinement, and Bullying

Moderate: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Torture, Mental illness, Rape, Death, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Sexual content, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Slavery, and War

sirenricobooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Animal cruelty, and Confinement

Moderate: Animal death, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Pregnancy, and Sexism

Minor: Alcohol and Death

kmp19's review against another edition

adventurous relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

Moderate: Pregnancy, Torture, Violence, and War

Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Rape, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Murder

readingizbiz's review against another edition

slow-paced

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

3.5

The writing was very frilly and imaginative. Not my favorite style when reading especially when explaining details that are not of major importance to the story. The ending was also weird and felt rushed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexism

izzykai's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Violence

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

mahoyap's review against another edition

adventurous informative relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.5

I enjoy this book eventhough it was a rather slow-paced for me. It was a delightful read. Like, a day in the life of Circe kind of book. Madeline Miller really great at her words and storytelling. There’s some parts that got me bored but overall satisfied through the end.  

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Content Warnings

Minor: Rape and Animal cruelty

gabriella_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

4.5

I read most of this book on a round trip train ride and someone’s front lawn. My god this book was gripping. I preferred The Song of Achilles for the romantic overtures but I think Madeline Miller really comes into her own as an author writing prose in this piece. The depth of the way she characterizes has compounded exponentially in this book. It’s such a refreshing spin on Greek mythos that I couldn’t put the book down.

This book made me laugh and cry within mere lines. I love the way Madeline Miller writes structures of misogyny without relegating women to damsels, and while writing all her characters as multidimensional with their own agendas. She captures the essence of Greek mythos without letting it choke out her own artistic vision.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Rape, Child death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Sexism, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Medical trauma, Medical content, Misogyny, Incest, Sexual harassment, War, Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

chriswoody94's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, and Animal cruelty

Minor: Violence and War