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A review by waytoomanybooks
Circe by Madeline Miller
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What can I say about this delightful book that hasn’t already been said?
Miller is a delightful storyteller. She weaves a beautiful tale and gives her borrowed characters a new lease on life. She makes them feel both very ancient and very present. She is the only author I trust to do a proper, faithful myth retelling.
Circe is such a perfect candidate for a retelling because she is neither a full Titan nor Olympian nor mortal. She is an in-between creature who struggles to figure out where she belongs. And when no one comes forth and tells her, she carved out a space for herself. She lives a life on her own terms. We watch her slowly but surely healing from her tortured past among fickle lesser gods and goddesses, monsters and creatures, and come out on the other side. We watch her grow and learn and shape herself into who she wants to be rather than what those with far more power tell her to be.
Circe learns about love and loss, creation and destruction, identity and discover all while cultivating her witchy powers, crossing paths with Greek heros, battling monsters, and meeting a number of notable gods. We watch her become herself and give herself the life she has always yearned for.
Miller is a delightful storyteller. She weaves a beautiful tale and gives her borrowed characters a new lease on life. She makes them feel both very ancient and very present. She is the only author I trust to do a proper, faithful myth retelling.
Circe is such a perfect candidate for a retelling because she is neither a full Titan nor Olympian nor mortal. She is an in-between creature who struggles to figure out where she belongs. And when no one comes forth and tells her, she carved out a space for herself. She lives a life on her own terms. We watch her slowly but surely healing from her tortured past among fickle lesser gods and goddesses, monsters and creatures, and come out on the other side. We watch her grow and learn and shape herself into who she wants to be rather than what those with far more power tell her to be.
Circe learns about love and loss, creation and destruction, identity and discover all while cultivating her witchy powers, crossing paths with Greek heros, battling monsters, and meeting a number of notable gods. We watch her become herself and give herself the life she has always yearned for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexual harassment
Minor: Sexual content, War