Reviews tagging 'Incest'

Circe Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters by Madeline Miller

215 reviews

luminifera's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-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

I absolutely loved it. What a beautiful retelling of the myth. So many details!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Sexual assault, Body horror, Cannibalism, Confinement, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Animal death, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Bullying, Child death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Torture, Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, War, Self harm, Infidelity, Addiction, Incest, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Xenophobia, and Alcohol

It's a heavy book. However, very much worth the read, and

it has a happy ending!

lyssachap's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault

Minor: Incest and Vomit

triangular_pascal's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cannibalism, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Pregnancy, Grief, Incest, Murder, Animal death, Death, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, and War

handful_of_frogs's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Murder, Alcohol, Bullying, Gore, Blood, Confinement, Child death, Death, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, War, and Violence

herceia's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

2.0

It’s a 3 bc I feel like I actually understand a myth better than any others before, but it would have been a 2 since this kind of narrative is just not for me. Every character could have been the same for me and it felt like it was non stop exposition, even though I feel like that’s just the nature of these myths. I wasn’t dazzled by the story or by the heroics or the characters, it was just a really long Wikipedia read for me 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Incest, Rape, and Sexual harassment

linossidepiece's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Incest, Pregnancy, and Grief

davii's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Incest, Rape, War, Sexual violence, Slavery, Abandonment, and Sexual assault

buchstabenmaedchen's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring reflective slow-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Incest, and Emotional abuse

snowwhitehatesapples's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring 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

 Review can also be found at Snow White Hates Apples.

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous .

That’s my primary thought when it comes to Madeline Miller’s Circe because this reimagining of the notorious enchantress-goddess in ancient Greek mythology is a stunner. I’m completely taken by how the author brilliantly humanises who several people would deem a villain, making the titular main character complex and flawed yet so, so relatable. I’ve not cared deeply for a character in a long time, but Circe has awakened that in me and even now, more than a month after I finished reading this book, I still find myself unable to part with the story.

Spanning thousands of years, this book begins at Circe’s birth and ends at her death (whether literal or metaphorical, I leave that up to you to decide). It touches on so many things and has so many characters, but ultimately, it’s the witch-goddess’ story. We see her grow from naïve, lonely and shunned daughter of nymph Perse and Titan Helios to the all-powerful witch of Aeaea who turns bad men into swine, and then, more. Amidst all the betrayals, drama, magic and adventures, Circe is, at its heart, a story of pain and anger, desire and love, heartache and loneliness, strength and motherhood.

That said, don’t read this book expecting adventures and battles a hero would undergo because this isn’t the story of a hero. It’s the story of a side character, a “dreadful goddess with lovely hair and human speech” as per Homer’s Odyssey . Thus, read Circe as a breath of fresh air where this side character learns how to respect and love herself, and that by accepting and being herself, she becomes free. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Infidelity, and Gore

Minor: Pregnancy, War, and Incest

destynee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.0

This is another book I was hesitant to read but also excited. I have to admit I’m a bit disappointed. The story was fun but this has been passed off as a feminist retelling and it’s not that at all. Choices were made with the writing, mainly with the parts of the lore that were used to make up the story, Circe has beef with almost every woman in the book due that and the fact that they all seem to hate her, and out of anyone she’s willing to give the men in her life a second chance way before she does the women. It was just really annoying. If anything this is a feminist story for white women and Miller is not good at writing women.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest and Abandonment

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Body horror and Rape