Reviews with content warning for Murder - Circe

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Circe by Madeline Miller

397 reviews

lindsaysofia_25's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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

Such a gorgeous novel! The prose is absolutely captivating and is the perfect blend of Homer's epic tradition and Miller's own flair. Following an immortal protagonist through an epic spanning thousands of years allows the story to touch on many myths as well as the overlap with the Odyssey which inspired the novel in the first place. I was impressed by how smoothly Miller managed to transition between these eras of Circe's life such that in hindsight I can remember all the different myths I read about Circe's involvement in, and yet I never felt like I was being jolted from one to the next. It's also quite a feat to write such a sprawling epic while maintaining strong narrative momentum!

In the first half of the novel, I was already enamoured with the style and atmosphere, but reading further and beginning to see how loose ends tied together and themes emerged, I really saw that this was a 5 star novel. I remember my 12th grade English teacher saying that reading fiction is the best way to learn about the world and yourself, and this novel turned out to be a perfect example of that. I genuinely believe that I am changed by my reading of it, and by exploring my own reaction to it. Miller skillfully blends a fabulous reading experience on the surface with an insightful philosophical argument about life, love, and passion.

Using Greek myth as a vehicle for all this allowed Miller to use readers' existing knowledge of these oral histories to make commentary, and allowed her to use immortality and divinity as a foil for mortality and humankind. I love reading work that uses well-known source material but doesn't feel hollow or derivative, and this is a great example of exactly that. The blend of style against a thoroughly well-researched background reminds me of Chloe Gong, which is one of the highest compliments I can offer! Of course their particular style differs, but they both are experts at producing an engrossing atmosphere that draws readers in and invites them to contemplate the events of the novel and their underlying meanings and motivations.

I'm excited to reread this at some point after becoming more familiar with the Odyssey (I know the Iliad much better) and some of the less popular source myths, and buy my own copy so I can annotate to my heart's content. This is such a rich novel I can feel in my bones its excellent reread value!

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tashaxkate's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

I am heartbroken to have finished this book, I feel emptier knowing there’s no more story to read but fuller for having read through its pages. One of the best books I have ever read and it deserves every piece of hype and praise it gets.

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themirrorball's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

for the first half of this book, i felt like i was just waiting for something meaningful to happen. i found myself becoming disinterested with how quickly characters were introduced and then dropped. however, once i realized that the focus of this book it not on the plot, the relationships, or even the characters, but simply how circe develops over her long life, i began to appreciate much more. Circe is an excellently thought out character. she is incredibly complex, and it is interesting to watch her change as she meets new people with new perspectives. watching her discover more and more about the world and what she wants, all while remaining on her island is fascinating. I also loved the complexity of the relationships in this book. each one is rich and layered, and they become more so as circe’s matures. overall I think this book is an amazing achievement that tells the story of circe very well, but can be slow and difficult to get through too often.

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milkkyghost's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

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kmp19's review against another edition

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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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elementalmoon's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

A lovely reimagining of Greek mythology, as well as a reflection of the joys and sorrows of human life.

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emilywemily6's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

The writing was beautiful and I loved how to themes are subtle yet significant throughout. I really enjoy Greek mythology and how the more I read, the more names I recognize. Circe really came into her own.

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clovetra's review against another edition

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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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tomblyc's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful 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

Content Warnings

amanda_mh's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

Where do I begin with Circe! This was a truly breathtaking book, I will say it again and again the way Madeline miller crafts her story’s and characters is beautiful. She found a way to take a well known character in Greek mythology and create an entire life story for her that is real, honest, and meaningful. Themes of feminism, motherhood, love, and independence are shown as Circe alone grows into her own person. I will continue reading Madeline millers books when she publishes them because I cannot get enough of her writing !!!

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