Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'
Circe Excerpt: The First 3 Chapters by Madeline Miller
1106 reviews
letheii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
tense
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
4.5
there was a quote i wanted to include in this review but i forgot to note it down!!!
this book summarises what it is like to be a woman in both fictional and real world
this book summarises what it is like to be a woman in both fictional and real world
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Rape, Abandonment, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Body horror
inkwellimps's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Would have been a 5/5, but I didn't care for the ending. The lead character ends up with the half-brother of her son. I know it's normal for gods, but reading it in a modern context is "ick" to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Misogyny, Body horror, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, and Fire/Fire injury
juliarenae's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
a great retelling, enjoyed it greatly
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
yulismeow's review against another edition
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
lauramcc7's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Rape, Violence, Death, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Body horror, Animal death, and Infidelity
mmanuel's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Sexual violence, Murder, Infertility, Torture, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Rape, Death, Confinement, Child death, and Toxic relationship
rmdange's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
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
4.5
A lyrical meditation on mortality through the eyes of an immortal, Circe reclaims the myth of the oft-maligned sorceress from The Odyssey through a wry, feminist lens. Madeline Miller’s prose is stunning, evoking the flow and emotional range of classical poetry with all the accessibility of modern English. Through Circe’s eyes, Miller narrates some thousand years of Greek mythology – precise to the letter – with unstinting honesty and keen insight. The gruesome realities of wartime choices, the vices and follies of revered mythical heroes, and the self-serving avarice of the gods are all laid bare in 385 pages. Despite the scope of the book’s content, most of it reads quickly and engagingly, though in some sections it slows to the point of near-tedium. Plumbing the boundless depths of Circe’s grief is not for the faint of heart, as I learned, a great deal of my own nature and loneliness having come to light in the process. I now consider Circe one of the crown jewels of my bookshelf. From its intricate, melancholic tale arises a beautiful reflection on the meaning of a fleeting mortal life that is timeless without being clichéd.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Sexual assault
koiolee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
4.75
I can't say why this isn't a 5 star read for me, but it just didn't feel like a 5 star read. Usually when I think that it's actually because theres no diversity or whatever, but this book is really only about Circe, so there's no point in diversity because only a few people come to her island in the first place.
ANYWAYS This book was fantastic. I love the way Miller writes and it's so captivating. I love the way Miller picks the characters that are mentioned but don't actually get the limelight in the classical tales. I've been told people either love or hate this book, and I'm on the love it side. Circe is painted as a docile goddess who gets taken advantage of and pushed too far too often. She learns to wear violence as a shield as shes seen and picked up from other gods and nymphs often. I liked the way this story ends where she finally accepts and becomes her truest self, not the goddess, but a mortal witch Circe. I love that for her.
ANYWAYS This book was fantastic. I love the way Miller writes and it's so captivating. I love the way Miller picks the characters that are mentioned but don't actually get the limelight in the classical tales. I've been told people either love or hate this book, and I'm on the love it side. Circe is painted as a docile goddess who gets taken advantage of and pushed too far too often. She learns to wear violence as a shield as shes seen and picked up from other gods and nymphs often. I liked the way this story ends where she finally accepts and becomes her truest self, not the goddess, but a mortal witch Circe. I love that for her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual assault, Grief, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Rape
Moderate: Incest
paitynak's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
bee_ayy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Pros of this book: it is beautifully written. Madeline Miller's style of writing is eloquent and rich with detail and for the first fifty percent of this book I thought it was going to be a five star read.
Which just makes it all the more disappointing that halfway through this book seems to switch tack. As soon as Oddyseus shows up I started having problems with this book. Circe no longer felt like the main character anymore. The focus shifted to Oddyseus and the war and recounting all his heroic adventures and I could not have cared less about that.
It also annoyed me that for what is clearly meant to be feminist literature Circe has virtually zero meaningful relationships with any other women, only men.
You are better off to stop reading this book after she turns the men into pigs, every thing after that is disappointing and uninteresting.
Which just makes it all the more disappointing that halfway through this book seems to switch tack. As soon as Oddyseus shows up I started having problems with this book. Circe no longer felt like the main character anymore. The focus shifted to Oddyseus and the war and recounting all his heroic adventures and I could not have cared less about that.
It also annoyed me that for what is clearly meant to be feminist literature Circe has virtually zero meaningful relationships with any other women, only men.
You are better off to stop reading this book after she turns the men into pigs, every thing after that is disappointing and uninteresting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual assault