A review by vaniavela
Circe by Madeline Miller

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

4.25

Greek mythology is not exactly my cup of tea and it makes little sense to me with all those names and gods and goddesses and I get confused easily. She is a woman who has pulled off terrible things, but is still human. She's lonely and tough, and hides in sarcasm oftentimes. As a retelling, Circe deserves between 4 and 5 stars for being written with a lovely prose. However, there could have been improvements. I would have liked to have seen the handmaids on her island play a larger role. I found the concept of an island inhabited by women who have been exiled by the gods interesting, but it was not tapped into enough. The author was afraid of success. Overall it was a good book, but I didn't feel the same excitement that everyone was telling me about it with. 

Trigger/Content Warnings: Violence, gore, murder, torture, physical abuse, child abuse, thoughts of suicide, brief scene with cutting, graphic childbirth scenes, mention of bestiality, mention of incest, animal sacrifice, death of a sibling, death of a child, death of a loved one, death of an animal, rape, adultery, and war themes.
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