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A review by eggilybread
Circe by Madeline Miller
3.0
3.5⭐️
Certainly, you can tell from reading this and SoA that Miller is brilliant at retelling myths so that they are rich with information: I felt like I learnt a lot. I love myth retellings for that very reason, and this did not disappoint in terms of the breadth it covered across traditional Greek myths, gods and heroes. Despite knowing quite a lot of Odysseus (which I think can hinder the enjoyment of these books a little), there was so much from the traditional stories that I wasn’t aware of. Nevertheless, it just wasn’t as good as SoA.
Whilst Circe’s little island full of animals and witchcraft - on paper - sounds like my absolute dream setting and protagonist, it got a bit dull. I started to feel both depressed about how miserable Circe’s existence is and frustrated at her choices. The beautiful writing (god, Miller LOVES a beautifully written final page) felt absent for most of this and then shoehorned in to make this A Good Book.
Certainly, you can tell from reading this and SoA that Miller is brilliant at retelling myths so that they are rich with information: I felt like I learnt a lot. I love myth retellings for that very reason, and this did not disappoint in terms of the breadth it covered across traditional Greek myths, gods and heroes. Despite knowing quite a lot of Odysseus (which I think can hinder the enjoyment of these books a little), there was so much from the traditional stories that I wasn’t aware of. Nevertheless, it just wasn’t as good as SoA.
Whilst Circe’s little island full of animals and witchcraft - on paper - sounds like my absolute dream setting and protagonist, it got a bit dull. I started to feel both depressed about how miserable Circe’s existence is and frustrated at her choices. The beautiful writing (god, Miller LOVES a beautifully written final page) felt absent for most of this and then shoehorned in to make this A Good Book.