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A review by zwiame
Circe by Madeline Miller
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Where to begin? This was a definite surprise for me, seeing how I hadn't been a fan of The song of Achilles at all.
Madeline Miller's prose is as beautiful as ever, this you can't ever fault her for. The way she writes flows like a clear stream, it's simply refreshing and oh so easy to get lost in her writing.
In terms of story and pacing, I found it was simply stellar. I understand how some people may find it too slow, or uneventful, but I just couldn't put it down. Every theme this book explores (women's treatment, power, otherness, loneliness, love, etc.) is just beautifully and profoundly dealt with. To me, it's specifically Miller's portrayal of women and the menial misogyny of the world that strikes hardest. Her depiction of women is so complex, so multi-dimensional and so genuine, I was left awestruck. The way female characters don't always support eachother, but are still affected by misogyny and react to it in many different ways is just refreshing to read.
In terms of side characters, this book has a rather limited cast, but some of them are just amazingly fleshed out, my personal favourite interpretations being Odysseus, Penelope, Daedalus and Helios (Prometheus' cameo was incredible as well). The complexity of each characters, and the way Miller shows them in raw and more genuine fashion than their mythology versions is so satisfying to read. To me, it's the very purpose of a retelling, and she did it brilliantly. This was what changed, I think, from her retelling of Achilles: the characters feel achingly real in this one, in a way they never did in The song of Achilles.
Finally, Circe. The namesake of this book. I have no idea how Miller managed to make such a simple, seemingly ordinary character the heroine of her book, but she sure succeeded! Circe was an amazing narrator to have, and I found myself adoring the first person point of view, when it is normally something I don't particularly enjoy. Her viewpoint of the world is, once again, so real and relatable, so flawed and yet understandable, that you form a bond with her while reading.
It took me a while to decide whether or not to give this five stars. Usually, I reserve this to books that leave me starstuck, that dazzle me and that take me somewhere else.
I didn't feel this way with Circe, specifically because I knew most of her story already.
But Circe, in all its simplicity, left me unable to criticise anything about it, and eager to pick it up and reread it right after having finished it. Therefore, a five star read it is.
Madeline Miller's prose is as beautiful as ever, this you can't ever fault her for. The way she writes flows like a clear stream, it's simply refreshing and oh so easy to get lost in her writing.
In terms of story and pacing, I found it was simply stellar. I understand how some people may find it too slow, or uneventful, but I just couldn't put it down. Every theme this book explores (women's treatment, power, otherness, loneliness, love, etc.) is just beautifully and profoundly dealt with. To me, it's specifically Miller's portrayal of women and the menial misogyny of the world that strikes hardest. Her depiction of women is so complex, so multi-dimensional and so genuine, I was left awestruck. The way female characters don't always support eachother, but are still affected by misogyny and react to it in many different ways is just refreshing to read.
In terms of side characters, this book has a rather limited cast, but some of them are just amazingly fleshed out, my personal favourite interpretations being Odysseus, Penelope, Daedalus and Helios (Prometheus' cameo was incredible as well). The complexity of each characters, and the way Miller shows them in raw and more genuine fashion than their mythology versions is so satisfying to read. To me, it's the very purpose of a retelling, and she did it brilliantly. This was what changed, I think, from her retelling of Achilles: the characters feel achingly real in this one, in a way they never did in The song of Achilles.
Finally, Circe. The namesake of this book. I have no idea how Miller managed to make such a simple, seemingly ordinary character the heroine of her book, but she sure succeeded! Circe was an amazing narrator to have, and I found myself adoring the first person point of view, when it is normally something I don't particularly enjoy. Her viewpoint of the world is, once again, so real and relatable, so flawed and yet understandable, that you form a bond with her while reading.
It took me a while to decide whether or not to give this five stars. Usually, I reserve this to books that leave me starstuck, that dazzle me and that take me somewhere else.
I didn't feel this way with Circe, specifically because I knew most of her story already.
But Circe, in all its simplicity, left me unable to criticise anything about it, and eager to pick it up and reread it right after having finished it. Therefore, a five star read it is.