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A review by rubeusbeaky
Circe by Madeline Miller
4.0
I waffled for ages as to how I was going to score this book.
The writing is a 5, let's get that right. The melancholy prose unfolds like one of her fireside confessions, or like a crooked stream twisting and glinting in the dark... It draws you in, beautiful even though it is also tragic, sinister, and full of very bitter human longing.
For message, the book only hit a 4 for me. Circe has an eons' long journey of self-discovery... but at every turn she seeks a man's validation, and eschews the friendships of women. Granted, she wasn't offered many, but she is often more trusting and affectionate towards men than women, /despite/ the repeated abuses heaped upon her by the men in her life. Furthermore, she is comfortable keeping her own company... for a time. But always, loneliness seeps in, and she convinces herself that not only would she feel better if she /had/ company, but she would feel better if she were /like/ the company she keeps, if she conformed herself to suit someone else, and hid what was strong or remarkable about herself. A human trait, a reality for many people. But a lesson I would have liked to see a mythical character learn and overcome. I think we are supposed to feel that way by the end. But since she still pines for marriage, a husband to soothe her... I'm not convinced she ever learns to be happy with herself.
And finally, for as much as I appreciate the finesse in the writing, and appreciate the discussion of women's rights and the many, MANY unsung hardships of trying to thrive as a woman... the book is HEAVY, emotionally heavy. I didn't /enjoy/ reading it; the many passages about self-harm and suicide made me anxious, her callousness about how she tricked a married man into impregnating her made me angry, her overall lack of trajectory or hope made me sad... This is not a happy book XD. It's a good book for dissecting, like with a book club or an English class. But it's not fun for reading alone before bed. Not for me, too real. I give it a 3 for personal enjoyment.
The writing is a 5, let's get that right. The melancholy prose unfolds like one of her fireside confessions, or like a crooked stream twisting and glinting in the dark... It draws you in, beautiful even though it is also tragic, sinister, and full of very bitter human longing.
For message, the book only hit a 4 for me. Circe has an eons' long journey of self-discovery... but at every turn she seeks a man's validation, and eschews the friendships of women. Granted, she wasn't offered many, but she is often more trusting and affectionate towards men than women, /despite/ the repeated abuses heaped upon her by the men in her life. Furthermore, she is comfortable keeping her own company... for a time. But always, loneliness seeps in, and she convinces herself that not only would she feel better if she /had/ company, but she would feel better if she were /like/ the company she keeps, if she conformed herself to suit someone else, and hid what was strong or remarkable about herself. A human trait, a reality for many people. But a lesson I would have liked to see a mythical character learn and overcome. I think we are supposed to feel that way by the end. But since she still pines for marriage, a husband to soothe her... I'm not convinced she ever learns to be happy with herself.
And finally, for as much as I appreciate the finesse in the writing, and appreciate the discussion of women's rights and the many, MANY unsung hardships of trying to thrive as a woman... the book is HEAVY, emotionally heavy. I didn't /enjoy/ reading it; the many passages about self-harm and suicide made me anxious, her callousness about how she tricked a married man into impregnating her made me angry, her overall lack of trajectory or hope made me sad... This is not a happy book XD. It's a good book for dissecting, like with a book club or an English class. But it's not fun for reading alone before bed. Not for me, too real. I give it a 3 for personal enjoyment.