ClaireB’s Comments (group member since Jul 06, 2014)

ClaireB’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Day 6 DQ - Chapters XIX - XXI

16. Telegonos ventures out into the world for the first time. Not quite the adventure he imagined - how do you think the incident with Odysseus and the knowledge that the world is different from what he imagined is going to affect him for the coming years?

Well it's bound to traumatize him somewhat. It's horrible. Imagine you travel such a long way to meet your father and he gets angry and throws himself at your weapon. The trauma !

17. Telemachus' story doesn't quite sound like the Odysseus that was depicted in previous chapters, even if Circe seems to recognise a lot of the traits. I never thought he'd be this paranoid. In light of the boy's disappointment in his own father, do you agree with Circe that Telemachus was honest when he said he wasn't out for revenge? What about Penelope though?

I think his switch in personality is in the Odyssee as well. I guess the paranoia served him well during his adventures. But now that he has to stay put he doesn't know what to do with this feeling. It's tragic really.
I thought Penelope was a bit weird. Not at all like I imagined her.

18. More than halfway through the book: do you enjoy the book? Do you (still/finally) like Circe?

I really like this book. Second time reading and I still love it.

Day 5 DQ - Chapters XVI - XVIII

13. What do you make of Odysseus himself? And of Circe's relationship with him?

I'm not a fan of Odysseus, nor of his relationship with Circe. I get she's lonely, but she can do better.

14. This one is for the more mythology knowledgeable ones among us: Have you read The Iliad? For those less knowledgeable in actual myths: or have you seen the movie Troy? In how far do Odysseus' stories and accounts reflect what has been written by Homer?

I haven't read the Illyad, but I read the Odysee. I recognize the story with the cyclops, and of course his encounter with Circe. But her story is really a short segment.

15. Witch pregnancies do not strike me as particularly easy... But neither is the aftermath it seems! What do you make of Athena's appearance and her attempts at killing Circe's son? What do you think is the real reason she wants to see him dead? What is he going to do? (If you know your mythology and there is an actual background to this, I'm curious!)

Athena is horrible in this book. I really didn't like her. It's strange because I usually consider her one of my favourite greek divinity.
Before reading this book I didn't even know Circe had a son. So I don't know what her real motivations are.

I was also always in front of the tv early in the morning as a child. and I watched a lot of crap. We had all of those japan-france collabs of low quality, mostly adaptations of depressive classics. Well the classics themselves weren't always depressive, they just made it so. We got A Little Princess, Little Women but the worst was an adaptation of a french classic called Without Family, in which a young boy just loses companions after companions. It was just the worst, and it was the first thing I saw in the morning. Way to start your day...

OMG, me too !!!

Sammy wrote: "I used to collect the smurf figures as a kid. had dozens of them. then I gave them to my kids who destroyed them. Wish I'd saved them, because they're worth a small fortune now! lol."

I also had a few as a child. I have no idea where they are now.

Sonia wrote: "First argument I had with my cousin when I was 8 and she was 6, right when I git back from Venezuela, was because of a Smurfette Puzzle we got her as a xmas present.

Our parents had to intervene s..."

Aaaaw. You must have been so confused. It's so cute.

Oh and out of curiosity I checked whether they were actually called Suske and Wiske in english. Seems like in the UK they are Spike and Suzy and in the US Willy and Wanda or sometimes Luke and Lucy.
It makes absolutely no sense. Lol

Yep, and Suske and Wiske are called Bob and Bobette in french. And the Smurfs are Schtoumpf (pronounced shtroomf).

Sonia wrote: "✿ Claire ✿ wrote: "Just read a passage in that has me shocked. I don't know if I should laugh or be offended.

"It wasn’t that I did not believe in ghosts; it was that..."

Good point. I guess there's just no way to place an imaginary country between two other countries in Europe without offending anyone.
Actually, the Princess Diaries movie did it better than Cassandra Clare. LOL

Eldarwen wrote: "✿ Claire ✿ wrote: "Just read a passage in that has me shocked. I don't know if I should laugh or be offended.

"It wasn’t that I did not believe in ghosts; it was that..."

Poor Luxemburg, everybody forgets about it most of the time. Except for their neighbouring countries...

I think the author was trying to make a joke. But it really didn't work, because the character thinking that is from Brittain originally, and at the time it is set in, Belgium was thriving and had a really good relationship with Brittain. So I can't believe she wasn't sure Belgium existed. Plus she just came back from a travel through europe. You can't tell me she didn't study the map before leaving?? It was just plain stupid.
That's too bad really, because apart from that the book was fun to read.

Just read a passage in that has me shocked. I don't know if I should laugh or be offended.

"It wasn’t that I did not believe in ghosts; it was that I believed in them in the same noncommittal way that I believed in giant squids or lucky coins or Belgium. They were things that probably existed, but I had never had any occasion to really care one way or another."

Whaaaaat???! Belgium is a myth, now? What, what???
Belgium is seldom mentioned in books, so when it is I notice it immediately. But it's the first time I see its existence is questioned.
(Not counting the fact that in City of Bones Cassandra Clare, when discussing the location of Idris, asserts that there's nothing between France and Germany. Slight geographical faux pas... At the time, I decided not to be offended and that Cassandra Clare meant that Idris was Belgium. I liked the idea that we were all secretly shadowhunters.
funny fact, in the french translation they put Idris between France and Spain. Less chance to offend anyone when having that discussion.)

Judith wrote: "✿ Claire ✿ wrote: "Still no notifications. I can't believe they leave us without them for so long."

I was coming to this thread to whine about the same thing. This is some kind of horrid record I ..."

It goes with this Horror theme they've got going at the moment

Eldarwen wrote: "Fair warning:

My weekend was slow for reading due to migraine so I'm a bit further behind than I wanted to be.

DQ for the next two days will therefore not be up immediately! Bear with me :-)
The..."

Sorry to hear that. I hope you feel better now.

Still no notifications. I can't believe they leave us without them for so long.

It's the worst, especially in the middle of a group challenge. I just keep my pages open and try to refresh them every couple of hour or so. Such a waste of time.

DQs for Chapters 9 through 15

9. Circe's character goes through quite a few developments in personality in these chapters, both positively and negatively. How do you think the time in Aiaia has changed her?
Being far away from her toxic family was good for her. She's able to explore who she really is, without the nefarious influence of the people who diminishes her all the time.

10. "But in solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the Earth" (chapter 11) - when I read this quote, I felt sorrow and sympathy for Circe, for all her life, she has been dealt the bad hand. What did you feel? Do you think Circe felt any real connection with Daedelus or do you think she is attracted to anyone who treats her a little differently from her family?
No, I think there's a real connection with Daedalus. They both have to deal with people who don't appreciate them as they should.
But I have to say, Madeline Miller truly transformed Daedalus. He's quite different from the original myth, or at least my own interpretation of him. Or maybe it is to show how Circe sees him, in that case the connection might be not as profound as I felt reading the book.
I don't know. lol.

11. Every chapter in this section explored her relationship with a different character - Daedelus, Madea, Pasiphae in Crete and we get a sneak peek at her relationship with Odysseus. Each experience affects her adversely, sometimes positively, most times negatively. Which character did you like/ dislike the most and why? How do you think that character changed Circe?
Of course I disliked Pasiphae the most. She went out of her way to once again bully her own sister, making her go through this long and perillious voyage just so she can insult her once more. she's truly dispisable. But I was glad to see Circe rebel a little this time. It shows that being away from her nefarious family did her some good. She was able to built up some backbone. Good for her. I don't think she will take any more crap from her family from now on.

12. Circe's trust in mortals is shattered after her traumatic experience with a man. How do you think this will affect the rest of the story? Do you think she'll come to change her opinion?
That's the whole start of the myth of Circe the witch, and it gives a good explaination why she's often represented as a villain.

Day 1 DQs Chapters 1 - 4 (for October 2nd)
1. Our setting for this book is the world of Greek mythology. What is your background with Greek mythology? How do you think your knowledge and opinions of Greek mythology will influence your reading of this book?
I have a decent knowledge of Greek mythology. I studied some of it during my latin classes in High School and I've read the Odyssey. I've always been fascinated by mythology in general. And this is my second time reading Circe.
What this book did for me is to give a voice to a strong female character, and give us another perspective on those greek heroes. I really liked that. It was well done.

2. In the first few chapters, we are introduced to Circe's family. I found myself having many different feelings about the characters presented. Which relationship has caused you the most emotion? What is it about that relationship that causes those emotions?
It was horrible to see Circe treated this way by her own family. For me it was the sister, Pasiphae, and the mother who were the worst in this whole mess. It's hard to read about a character who is so unloved by those people who should have loved her the most. At the same time I get that a God/Goddess's relationship to their family members can't work the same as for humans. After a while it must be hard to keep track of them. But on the other hand, Circe is presented in this very humane way, and thus it makes it hard to accept.

3. Why does Circe approach Prometheus? How do you think this will affect her later in the book?
I think it's because of Circe's unusual compassion and maybe her curiosity about mortals. After all, she has been compared to them quite a few times by her own family. It's normal she'd feel empathy for someone who tried to help them.

4. How does Glaucos's position affect what he sees in Circe? If Glaucos was invited to a family reunion of Circe's, how do you think he would compare her to others in her family?
Of course, because of her goddess status Glaucos has to be respectful. He knows that if he pleases the Goddess she can help him greatly, and on the contrary if he displeases her she might make his life a mysery. There's something deeply disingenuous about the way he regards her I think. That's at least what I felt about him the first time I read it.

I thought it was weird no one was talking anymore. I hope they'll sort out that notification issue soon. It's annoying as heck.

Judith wrote: "Okay. I meant to offer to make meals for anyone who either didn’t want to or didn’t have the time.

Though now my kid has decided napping is for losers since we transitioned his crib to a toddler b..."

That's nice of you. But if you can't find the time to do it, don't worry. I'm sure I'll be able to figure something out.

I'm also a bit unsure on what kind of dishes I should make, strategy-wise. It's a bit hard to get a good picture of what we've got ready and how much we would need of each type of dish. Should we try to aim at having dishes with loads of ingredients or are we content with the bare minimum for each dish. What is the best strategy here?