A review by elainarkk
Circe by Madeline Miller

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Very few books make me cry, but Circe really, really did. Not because it is overwhelmingly sad, but because it is overwhelmingly beautiful. Miller does a wonderful job of weaving her stories, just like her characters weave their own within the book. The prose, pacing, and characterization all worked together in stitching a top tier book. Circe is such a strong, lovable, deeply feeling feminine character that I ache to see my time with her done. I enjoyed the subtle feminism present in the story, especially because the classical Greek myths are strife with patriarchal pleasures and standards. This book didn't take me super long to read, but by the end, I felt like I had truly witnessed the millennia Circe had already lived--and as much as I am left yearning for more, Miller's ending to Circe was perfect. It made me feel utterly breathless and content and joyous and proud and happy and sad, all at the same time. I cannot find many more words to describe the praises for this book. It truly is the new classic. A++ Madeline Miller.
oh jeez, that ending hit me so hard. I should've picked up on it probably, but I didn't and I was struck by such the bittersweet contentment that Circe could finally live a mortal life with her found mortal family, but also by the deep, recurring message of the fleetingness--and thus power--of mortal life. such a great, great book. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings