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A review by saucy_bookdragon
Circe by Madeline Miller
emotional
reflective
sad
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
”I thought: I cannot bear this world a moment longer.
Then, child, make another.”
I had a similar experience rereading Circe to my reread of This Is How You Lose the Time War. Both are books I read in July 2020 and found meh initially, I reread both of them in 2023, leading to them both becoming favorites!
It helped that I reread Circe for a mythology in literature class and so had to really sit with the story and discuss it with a great class (unpopular opinion: sometimes assigned reading is fun). This time, I found it to be a beautiful and emotional look into Greek mythology. Circe as a character is so well developed, I couldn’t help but empathize with her. In a way, she weirdly resonated with me. Especially in how this discusses mundanity and attempts to claim oneself.
Madeline Miller was extremely thoughtful in how she portrayed Circe, her slowburn arc across centuries, dealing with her own sadness and loneliness and the misogyny of immortals. I love how she really looked at the characters of the myths, especially in portraying immortality and how being unchanged throughout centuries would make the gods stagnant and selfish. The writing is also gorgeous, my copy has an insane amount of quotes tabbed. It's poetic and intentional, the beauty fleshing out this world and characters.
After rereading it, I’m kind of kicking myself for not fully getting it the first time. It goes to show that sometimes once is not enough to understand a story. Circe is an intelligent character study into one of Greek mythology’s infamous villainesses, patching her myths together to show her as someone far more complex in order to question women’s place in Greek mythology.
Then, child, make another.”
I had a similar experience rereading Circe to my reread of This Is How You Lose the Time War. Both are books I read in July 2020 and found meh initially, I reread both of them in 2023, leading to them both becoming favorites!
It helped that I reread Circe for a mythology in literature class and so had to really sit with the story and discuss it with a great class (unpopular opinion: sometimes assigned reading is fun). This time, I found it to be a beautiful and emotional look into Greek mythology. Circe as a character is so well developed, I couldn’t help but empathize with her. In a way, she weirdly resonated with me. Especially in how this discusses mundanity and attempts to claim oneself.
Madeline Miller was extremely thoughtful in how she portrayed Circe, her slowburn arc across centuries, dealing with her own sadness and loneliness and the misogyny of immortals. I love how she really looked at the characters of the myths, especially in portraying immortality and how being unchanged throughout centuries would make the gods stagnant and selfish. The writing is also gorgeous, my copy has an insane amount of quotes tabbed. It's poetic and intentional, the beauty fleshing out this world and characters.
After rereading it, I’m kind of kicking myself for not fully getting it the first time. It goes to show that sometimes once is not enough to understand a story. Circe is an intelligent character study into one of Greek mythology’s infamous villainesses, patching her myths together to show her as someone far more complex in order to question women’s place in Greek mythology.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy