Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Circe

(Read this for School)
Very poetic writing, its so descriptive and feels like water flowing over my brain. One thing is that it claims to be a feminist retelling, and although there are themes of feminism, I feel like it shows more of what its like to be a woman and is somewhat a cautionary tale.

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whatifem's review

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adventurous dark hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

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ha1yan's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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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mildlypretentiousreader's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

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

2.0

Circe gives 2000s YA books in the worst way possible.

Beneath all the beautiful, alluring prose, Madeline Miller covertly writes a modern-day epic steeped in misogyny and sexism. Our protagonist and narrator, Circe, has an undeniable amount of internalized misogyny that she needs to unpack. Her character arc is essentially that she is "not like other girls." In the original text, Odysseus, many of the male characters are objectively horrible people. Many of which are rapists and abusers. Miller completely erases that reality. I understand that this is a "retelling" but completely removing essential details to fit your narrative is absurd.

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kamilahlove's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

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lexi_creighton's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

I absolutely love feminist retellings if Greek mythology, and Miller did not disappoint. It took a while for this book to pick up, but once it did, I couldn't put it down.

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alexijai98's review

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adventurous emotional 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

I cannot believe it took me so long to finally read this book. Madeline Miller has had my heart since I read The Song of Achilles years ago, and it is only Madeline Miller who can craft a story that makes me feel the way TSOA and Circe feel. Just as with TSAO, I cried reading this, but not purely out of sadness. I know the story of Circe (classics degree haver), but Miller just has a knack for bringing these tales to light in a way I’m sure bards would be jealous of. This is a story of strength and resilience, and of a woman (though immortal) finding peace with herself. I cannot stress enough how much I loved this.

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ellaford's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.0

As someone with a limited knowledge of Greek mythology I think it is a different experience to read this book, but not necessarily a worse one. The twists and turn were all the more intriguing and exciting. I listened to this book and the narrator did such a fantastic job of bringing circe alive as she had such a majestic way of reading. I enjoyed it more as it went on for certain and by the end was completely captivated by the world. I loved how nature and animals are described, and the complicated nature of good and bad.

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