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A review by starryeyedenigma
Circe by Madeline Miller
4.0
Circe is the daughter of the Sun God Helios and Oceanos’ daughter, Perse. She is born a Goddess, a Titan, as per Greek Mythology. This story is Circe’s story, it is about her journey through the ages, and how her life experiences teaches her who she is and who she wants to be.
I was really excited about starting this book, since I don’t know any of the Greek mythology stories, other from those I’ve watched in movies, like the one which had the handsome Brad Pitt as Achilles, so I know something about Troy and Achilles, but I hadn’t heard of Circe. So this was a brand new story for me.
However, once I started reading the book, I was disappointed in the beginning with Circe’s character and everything that was happening to her. Right from her birth, she is condemned and sneered at, because she doesn’t look beautiful enough, or doesn’t seem to have any powers. That didn’t bother me. What bothered me at the start was that even though she is a Goddess in her own right, she didn’t have any voice at all. And to add to it, she still wanted their (her family and the other Gods’) approval. I know this is very normal behaviour for any girl, but for some reason, or maybe because I have read so many fantasies where the heroine is fierce from the start, or maybe because of the fact that she was a Goddess, I found it hard to digest.
But the real fun started for me, when Glaucos enters her life. I can’t give away too many spoilers for those who are novices to Greek mythology, but after that I started having a new found admiration in Circe’s character. And that’s when it struck me, and this wasn’t the story of a fantastical Goddess, or a witch with superpowers in her fingers. This was the story of a woman, who finds her way in the world through sheer observation, hard work and lots of heart break. She seemed like us then.
I didn’t know about any of the references Madeline Miller weaves into this story, so for me, it was similar to reading a story for the first time. There are some really ghastly scenes on childbirth, but then there are lots of beautiful scenes about the island Aiaia (how does one pronounce that?) to compensate for those scenes. I found Circe’s experiences with love, heartbreak and motherhood, so familiar. Somewhere it comforted me to know that even powerful women and Goddesses and witches have to deal with the mundane
I was really excited about starting this book, since I don’t know any of the Greek mythology stories, other from those I’ve watched in movies, like the one which had the handsome Brad Pitt as Achilles, so I know something about Troy and Achilles, but I hadn’t heard of Circe. So this was a brand new story for me.
However, once I started reading the book, I was disappointed in the beginning with Circe’s character and everything that was happening to her. Right from her birth, she is condemned and sneered at, because she doesn’t look beautiful enough, or doesn’t seem to have any powers. That didn’t bother me. What bothered me at the start was that even though she is a Goddess in her own right, she didn’t have any voice at all. And to add to it, she still wanted their (her family and the other Gods’) approval. I know this is very normal behaviour for any girl, but for some reason, or maybe because I have read so many fantasies where the heroine is fierce from the start, or maybe because of the fact that she was a Goddess, I found it hard to digest.
But the real fun started for me, when Glaucos enters her life. I can’t give away too many spoilers for those who are novices to Greek mythology, but after that I started having a new found admiration in Circe’s character. And that’s when it struck me, and this wasn’t the story of a fantastical Goddess, or a witch with superpowers in her fingers. This was the story of a woman, who finds her way in the world through sheer observation, hard work and lots of heart break. She seemed like us then.
I didn’t know about any of the references Madeline Miller weaves into this story, so for me, it was similar to reading a story for the first time. There are some really ghastly scenes on childbirth, but then there are lots of beautiful scenes about the island Aiaia (how does one pronounce that?) to compensate for those scenes. I found Circe’s experiences with love, heartbreak and motherhood, so familiar. Somewhere it comforted me to know that even powerful women and Goddesses and witches have to deal with the mundane