Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Circe Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters by Madeline Miller

125 reviews

grebegirl's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-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

4.5

It took me a long time to get through this book. Not because it isn't well written or a great story. It's just very heavy. Miller created such a deep and complex character is Circe. I sometimes liked her, sometimes disliked her and always loved her. I can't wait to read song of Achilles. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual violence, War, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Grief, Abandonment, and Violence

nyquilla's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Rape, Child abuse, and Physical abuse

annatar1060's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-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? N/A

4.25

I love Greek mythology so it was a blast to see these characters in a different story from circe's point of view. I love that Miller added a list of characters in the back and added some personal questions that help us understand her thoughts on the book and book club questions! A well rounded reading experience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Physical abuse

bookstackbecca's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this Greek tale a lot. It was beautifully written. A character I had never truly known much about came to life, her story had me standing alongside her mixing herbs for her spells, understanding her griefs and her triumphs. Circe was such an outstanding read. Definitely worth it, it may seem slow to some but the pacing was spot on for a book that tells a classic greek tragedy is such a fresh way 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, and Grief

booksemmahasread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• 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: Death, Death of parent, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship

thepurplepixel's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Abandonment, Torture, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Death, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse

paulawind's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Her final act, the act of “becoming herself” being becoming human and a mortal is so powerful. She never sat well with the other gods, her heart was too big for that. Drinking her potion was an act of defiance, taking her own destiny into her hands, I felt so happy for her when I read the last words. Perfect ending to a nearly perfect book

I am a Greek mythology hoe so of course I loved this book. Feminist story set in the canon which diminished women mostly to tools for heroes to chase their glory. Miller doesn’t strip away achievements of men but rather shines light on the women who were always in the background of these stories, giving them the centre of the stage. At last.
Circe is written with such an intense amount of compassion to women in general, not only the ones from myths. Circe starts off as an innocent soul, with heart of her sleeve - life is beating that out of her but never fully succeeds. She learns to guard her heart and those she loves, seizing power for herself and you can’t help but think “good for her”.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Animal death, Death of parent, Rape, Violence, Blood, Infidelity, Torture, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Classism, and Misogyny

kwichris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Circe is a cleverly written novel about the goddess herself and the experiences she endured from her perspective. This novel spans centuries in time with both well-known and new mythological events and experiences Circe must navigate. Circe is shown as a more fully-developed person than in the minor roles she's played in other grand masterworks of classical literature. She perseveres through more hardships than can be imagined and her shere ingenuity and life-experience guides her actions through each trial and tribulation. Through it all, Circe demonstrates how many of us feel at different points in our lives despite never being bestowed with divinity as she has. Just as Circe is more fully realized in this novel, so too are her accompanying characters often the focus of the story when they encounter Circe. All in all, Madeline Miller has crafted a wonderfully detailed novel encompassing more mythology and the human experience than one might expect. If you're a fan of Greek mythology, history, and novels that really flesh out their characters, then I would highly recommend this book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Rape, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Animal death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Alcohol, Bullying, Child death, Torture, and Incest

Minor: Physical abuse, Infidelity, Classism, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Slavery

passivewax's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

WOW! Blown away. Beautiful and dark and the best testimony I’ve seen to the worthwhile flaws of being human. 

“I had walked the earth for a hundred generations, yet I was still a child to myself.”

Something else I want to add is that often I have trouble being able to envision scenery when reading, like following along with an author’s depictions is usually pointless for me and something I will read twice and then skip over because the description just doesn’t do it for me. Miller’s writing never once stumped me or had me reread, even in complex visual scenes. And also - it was so beautiful! The world she created and the imagery of nature and feelings was so extremely vivid. Was a nice change for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Medical trauma, Slavery, War, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Incest, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

gabriella_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

4.5

I read most of this book on a round trip train ride and someone’s front lawn. My god this book was gripping. I preferred The Song of Achilles for the romantic overtures but I think Madeline Miller really comes into her own as an author writing prose in this piece. The depth of the way she characterizes has compounded exponentially in this book. It’s such a refreshing spin on Greek mythos that I couldn’t put the book down.

This book made me laugh and cry within mere lines. I love the way Madeline Miller writes structures of misogyny without relegating women to damsels, and while writing all her characters as multidimensional with their own agendas. She captures the essence of Greek mythos without letting it choke out her own artistic vision.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Rape, Child death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Sexism, Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Medical trauma, Medical content, Misogyny, Incest, Sexual harassment, War, Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence