Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Circe Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

Circe Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters by Madeline Miller

153 reviews

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.0

I loved this updated, feminist themes retelling of so many Greek myths that we have heard so much about. The characters were compelling and I loved the author's portrayal of the Gods and the inner workings of their divinity. Very well done, I really enjoyed this book.

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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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marissasa's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Circe's journey of finding herself and learning to live for herself after centuries growing up abused, neglected, and forgotten was touching and told beautifully. I loved the feminist reframing of this character in Greek mythology and the way she was turned into a protagonist with her own agency and reasoning behind actions that were previously only known as plot devices in the tales of male heroes like Odysseus. Circe wasn't a huge name among the gods, being a minor goddess herself as one of many children of a Titan and a nymph. This made her situation all the more interesting as she had to use her wit and develop her witch abilities to overcome obstacles, as opposed to being able to set things on fire or turn people to stone with one look as some of the major gods could. Throughout the book you really feel for her and come to root for her, wanting her to find meaningful connections and a way to be truly happy despite her trauma and eternal punishment. She is fierce, determined, kindhearted, honest, and loving, and I loved Miller's beautiful writing style and masterful skill in conveying this lovely character's story.

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nixxer's review against another edition

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inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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saintmaud's review against another edition

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.0

miller is so good at writing prettily but ultimately her view of women is very clear in this book. circe as a character is bland and defanged, written for a very particular group that loves a very particular brand of feminism, which is crazy because the circe of the original myths was much more interesting and to present such a washed out retelling was… a choice. no more madeline miller for me thank u.

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tm400's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

i was not expecting such an intriguing and beautiful piece of work here but this was such an incredible book. if i had the time (and wasn't perpetually tired), i could have definitely finished this book within 1 or 2 days. the writing was illustrious and didn't skimp on any descriptions of any place, person, event, plant, animal, etc. since i've read the odyssey already, i knew of circe & her character, but was not expecting such an expansion of her character. i also loved when she crossed paths with medea, as medea is probably my favorite story from ancient greece. it was beautiful to see a character like circe take matters into her own hands, unlearn her internalized misogyny, hone her craft dedicatedly, and seek retribution from men that have wronged her throughout her life.
such an epic retelling.... i had already read the song of achilles by the time i picked this up, and i can safely say i enjoyed this book better out of the two (which may be a hot take but both novels were great!) we are definitely looking at my first 5/5 star book for the year 2023 !

(my copy had 385 pages)

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