Reviews with content warning for Child death - Circe

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

mendelbreakdown's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense 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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rjbedell's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Beautifully written, equal parts brutal and empowering in its epic sweep of a life across a thousand years. Occasionally bogged down in dark tensions, or whisked along by a revolving door of side characters that Miller usually succeeds in making relevant. Ends on hopeful, inspiring notes as a testament to humanity, love, and mortality.

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erinjade_3's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

5.0

Truly my favourite book ever.

Madeline Miller's writing is so heartbreakingly beautiful, with rich descriptions and fully-fleshed characters. I love how she reclaims the character of Circe and depicts her journey from girlhood through to womanhood. I am definitely one to prefer a character-driven book over a plot-driven book, and that is exactly what this is. We see centuries unfold through the eyes of an unsuspecting witness in Circe. As someone who has always loved Greek myths, the coinciding stories/ characters drove excitement for me when it came to plot (so I could see how this could be a potential downfall for some). But I think the richness of the characters and themes make up for that, personally.

I just adore this book.

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sfeldmann's review

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

The book was as long as an ocean and as deep as a puddle. There were good parts in the beginning portion and the end, but the middle of this book is a drag.

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crybabybea's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

The best part about this book is that it turned Greek mythology on its head, which is clever and creative. Madeline Miller took the character Circe, often relegated to the sideline as a plot device for famous heroes such as Odysseus, and made her the main character. In Circe, the titular witch becomes our hero, and all other characters serve her narrative as plot devices. Because of this, the novel becomes more of a character study, and we spend most of our time in Circe's experience and thoughts.

I should mention that I know very little about Greek mythology; it's never been a huge interest for me, and I wasn't a Percy Jackson child. That being said, the parallels to The Odyssey are very clear, and we even get a visit from Odysseus himself (which serves as a turning point in the novel for Circe's character). The prose itself is very clearly inspired by classic Greek literature. Descriptive and poetic at times, it also became the novel's biggest drawback for me as it became sluggish and even pretentious at times. But. I can't deny I felt incredibly immersed in Circe's journey, the island of Aiaia especially, and the witchiness of it all.

As for the character Circe herself, I did enjoy her. I enjoyed her journey, seeing how she changes and grows as she is influenced by the people and experiences she has throughout the story. Like I said, the other characters are merely plot devices; if you are looking for a unique cast of highly developed characters, this is not it. There is no overarching plot with intense action, no big baddie that needs defeated, and no moral lesson that needs to be learned. It is simply about the human experience of loneliness and connection, finding our way in life, making peace with our mistakes, and ultimately living a life of fulfillment.

As a literary character study, Circe (the character) is done very well. She is complicated, full of rage, grief, jealousy, love, and remorse. I think her story is relatable to a lot of different people, women and femmes especially, as they experience heartache after heartache in their search for love and acceptance. The mistakes we make as human beings, as well as the ways we try to right ourselves in a chaotic world are universal and Circe is an excellent mirror for that experience. I really enjoyed her development and how her story ended. Greek mythology was a great setting for this experience, as Circe grappled with her life as a lesser god -- surrounded by tricksters and remorseless cruelty, Circe redefines her own nature as she chooses love, both for herself and for the few people that become important in her life.

Because of the slow pacing and sluggish prose, this is on the lower end of the 3.25 star rating for me. The character study was great, but I think it dragged on a bit too long for little reward.

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codapril's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book was amazing!! It was slow paced, yet so intriguing and the pace of the book made it easier to understand, since the book takes place over thousands of years and spans so many different events. I loved this take on Circe, a goddess I had never thought much about before this book. This author is also so talented, the way in which she writes is so captivating and she has a way with her words in which I've never seen before. This book is so adventurous and exposes you to so many Greek myth stories, if even briefly, and it's exciting to see how they all intersect and influence each other. There is tremendous character development, in my opinion, more for some characters and less for others. But I loved how the author shaped your perception of a character and then introduces new information that can change your opinion of that character, for worse or for better. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and hope this author has more coming!

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