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A review by plantbasedbride
Circe by Madeline Miller
5.0
After about a week of dipping in and out of this story I have finally come to the end. And I must say that I found myself incredibly invested in Circe and her journey.
This is, I think, the slowest I’ve read a book so far in 2020. I felt I needed to listen in short bursts because if my attention wavered for even an instant I would lose some kernel of meaning. The prose is beautiful, and has a lyrical quality to it, but in that way that requires more focus to comprehend almost like reading poetry or a classic play.
I also have little knowledge of Greek mythology, which added an extra layer of complexity as I did my best to link my scattered and surface level knowledge of various myths and heroes and gods to what was being told in the story.
Despite these hurdles, I found myself rooting for Circe in a way that I didn’t expect from the beginning. She is a God who wishes to leave her divinity behind. One of countless in her line, uncles upon uncles and cousins upon cousins, who spends most of her existence alone and lonely. Blessed with power, a witch, she resents herself and the outcome of her witchcraft, even, to an extent, when her action was taken in self defence.
I loved seeing her defiance, the way she used her powers to overcome even the most powerful of the Titans and Olympians. The section in the ocean, especially, kept me utterly gripped. I felt a sense of discomfort and foreboding as I listened to the description of the deep sea, the quiet, the salt, and the great sea monster.
I also found the simple struggles of a single mother with a difficult infant/toddler to be incredibly endearing. Even a God can struggle to parent a rambunctious, wilful child!
I will be recommending this book to friends and family and I’m sure will revisit it in time.
Trigger Warning: Rape and violence.
This is, I think, the slowest I’ve read a book so far in 2020. I felt I needed to listen in short bursts because if my attention wavered for even an instant I would lose some kernel of meaning. The prose is beautiful, and has a lyrical quality to it, but in that way that requires more focus to comprehend almost like reading poetry or a classic play.
I also have little knowledge of Greek mythology, which added an extra layer of complexity as I did my best to link my scattered and surface level knowledge of various myths and heroes and gods to what was being told in the story.
Despite these hurdles, I found myself rooting for Circe in a way that I didn’t expect from the beginning. She is a God who wishes to leave her divinity behind. One of countless in her line, uncles upon uncles and cousins upon cousins, who spends most of her existence alone and lonely. Blessed with power, a witch, she resents herself and the outcome of her witchcraft, even, to an extent, when her action was taken in self defence.
I loved seeing her defiance, the way she used her powers to overcome even the most powerful of the Titans and Olympians. The section in the ocean, especially, kept me utterly gripped. I felt a sense of discomfort and foreboding as I listened to the description of the deep sea, the quiet, the salt, and the great sea monster.
I also found the simple struggles of a single mother with a difficult infant/toddler to be incredibly endearing. Even a God can struggle to parent a rambunctious, wilful child!
I will be recommending this book to friends and family and I’m sure will revisit it in time.
Trigger Warning: Rape and violence.