A review by angelsubrinaa
Circe by Madeline Miller

adventurous dark informative mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I'm aware that I should be revising for my A-Levels now but 1. this is a break for my own sanity, my burnt out self needs this and 2. I take classics so it's basically revision even though I've already done the world of the hero exam, I think it's safe to say it's love and relationships revision? There definitely is a lot of that. Since I didn't read the book in a whole sitting as revision for exams got in the way of my memory of how I found the beginning of the book in comparison for the ending, I'm not too sure whether it should be a 5 star reading or not because I definitely loved the second half of the book and the magnitude of the plot with the complex characters of Penelope and Telemachus and the way in which the entangled mess of their relationships led them to depend on each other. It was sort of like a found family trope, in my opinion, as Circe's true family disregarded her whilst Penelope and Telemachus were true to her and accepted her for her witchcraft and depended on her for safety as the most genuine goddess in her distaste towards the question of the morality of the gods. Miller's strong depiction of Circe as a bold woman in the midst of a brutal, predominantly masculine world made the book enjoyable. Telemachus is the love of my life, words cannot express how much I love his presentation in 'Circe' as a defiant and forthright character, he is undoubtedly the best male character in the whole book. The way he treated Telegonus made me melt, I love how Telemachus held a soft spot for him and maintained a facade of glory whilst the tales were harsh and violent. Miller done Telemachus justice unlike Homer as she should. I still hate Odysseus and I'm glad this book highlighted his flaws over his heroism. Circe certainly achieved character development in her protagonistic (is that a word?) arc from her former recklessness and her quest for love, I'm glad she found comfort in the end, Taylor Swift would love her for sure, Circe definitely reminds me of willow - the lonely witch version which is slay of her.