From the Bookshelf of Book Nerds Unite…

Circe

Madeline Miller

Start date: November 1, 2021

Finish date: November 30, 2021

Discussion: BOTMs

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What Members Thought

Nov 28, 2021 toointofiction rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, standalones, mythologies, retellings, reviewed-books, adult, madeline-miller

"Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (add another 0,75⭐ actually)

❗❗May contain some spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.❗❗

O M G!! I can believe I finally finished it, guys. This book was my Odyssey. Between my stupid stupid midterms and this book being a steel punch in the gut disguised as a paperback, it took me A WHOLE WEEK to finish this. It's really not the same as ten years lost at sea but whatever. My th ...more

150 likes · Like · see review

May 21, 2021 Shawna Finnigan rated it liked it

TW & CW// (view spoiler)
I’m going to start marking trigger warnings and content warnings with a spoiler tag as I’ve recently discovered that some people view these as spoilers. However I encourage all of you to read though the content/trigger warnings to check and see if this is a book that you’d be able to handle.

I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to read Circe. I knew it was somehow connected to The Odyss TW & CW// (view spoiler)
I’m going to start marking trigger warnings and content warnings with a spoiler tag as I’ve recently discovered that some people view these as spoilers. However I encourage all of you to read though the content/trigger warnings to check and see if this is a book that you’d be able to handle.

I went back and forth about whether or not I wanted to read Circe. I knew it was somehow connected to The Odyssey, one of my least favorite books of all time, but it was Greek mythology and I love Greek mythology. I’m doing a readathon in a Goodreads group and this was our next book, so that settled the decision for me of whether or not to read this book.

I feel as if the descriptions of Circe don’t really capture the true nature of this story. Circe reads as a feminist retelling/biography of the Greek goddess Circe who was banished to live on an island in exile. It’s a lyrical story following her life where she endures hardships while also encountering numerous Greek mythology heroes and gods. It’s a very explicit book that falls heavily into the adult genre.

Even after reading the whole book, I’m sort of conflicted on how I feel about it. The writing in the book was very lyrical and I appreciated that the author had the skill to write this, but I often got lost in the lyrical writing and found myself confused with the story. It got easier to understand everything as the story progressed but it was not an easy book to get through. There was also tons of characters mentioned that are thrown at you all at once. Even with the guide in the back of the book to clarify who was who, I couldn’t remember who was who and it was a struggle to keep track of how each character connected to each other.

Speaking of characters… the characters were very different than other depictions of Greek heroes and gods that I’ve read. They were all inherently flawed. There was no quirky or funny god like in Percy Jackson or other Greek retellings. Instead there were gods who found pleasure in the suffering of others and they were all in it for themselves so much so that none of the gods were appealing. The heroes were no better, but I at least found Ariadne and Daedalus tolerable and even bordering into the likable range. I suppose being flawed characters just presents them as more human and more relatable, but my mind grappled with keeping the fond idea of Greek gods in my head from other books while also trying to accept this depiction of the gods.

For the Odyssey connection, there was a much stronger connection than I originally thought there would be, which brought up some bad memories for me as I read The Odyssey when I was at my lowest, but at the same time, it wasn’t as bad as I suspected. None of the confusing prose of The Odyssey was present in this book and Odysseus was not painted as a great hero, which allowed myself to be somewhat relieved that I did not have to change my thoughts on him.

I could see Circe being an award winning HBO show or movie some day. It just has that vibe of good storytelling with complex characters and deep reflections in life that would make for a good screen adaptation.

You may be wondering why I rated this book so highly given my critiques and I may change my rating in the future, but for now I found this book to be a cleverly written and thoroughly researched book that gave me more insight into some less popular Greek myths that I wouldn’t have otherwise known about. It wasn’t the most enjoyable read, but at the same time I can really appreciate it for what it is and I can understand why so many people love Circe. ...more

121 likes · Like · see review

Nov 03, 2022 Abyssdancer (Hanging in there!) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Well, this is a lovely story … taking the bones of ancient mythology and fleshing them out with a modern twist of contemporary character flaws and beauties … Circe becomes a sympathetic character with a deep sincerity of brilliance and determination to overcome outside forces from gods and goddesses as well as mortal men …

Circe is the daughter of Helios, the Titan sun god, and Perce, a sea nymph … of the scores of children sired by Helios, he dislikes Circe the most, and Perse shares this dislik Well, this is a lovely story … taking the bones of ancient mythology and fleshing them out with a modern twist of contemporary character flaws and beauties … Circe becomes a sympathetic character with a deep sincerity of brilliance and determination to overcome outside forces from gods and goddesses as well as mortal men …

Circe is the daughter of Helios, the Titan sun god, and Perce, a sea nymph … of the scores of children sired by Helios, he dislikes Circe the most, and Perse shares this dislike … against her Grandmother’s warning, Circe begins to experiment with witchcraft … after confessing to Helios her talent of witchcraft, Circe is banished to an island bewitched with a beautiful house, sources of food and wine that replenish themselves, and endless herbs, flowers and other plant life from which she conjures poisons, spells, and amulets … visitors such as Hermes and Odysseus fall in and out of love with her, but Circe thrives in exile and becomes a brilliant witch through sheer will, as she explains …

I am so in love with the concept of this book … throughout my education, it seemed like units of mythology in school focused on male heroes and gods, with mortal women and goddesses portrayed as something that happens to males and never as key players … Madeleine Miller is able to portray women in mythology as strong and self-determined characters who dominate careless and self-absorbed men … Circe’s powers are developed through her own experimentation and inspiration … she withstands loneliness and neglect, throughout her early life, but in exile, she befriends herself, and luxuriates in her power …

What stopped me from giving this book the full five stars is the weariness of character development that sets in following the birth of Odysseus’s love child … I realize that this weariness resonates from the unfolding of Circe’s character and is story driven … but the weariness enveloped me like the gloom of a cloudy day with no rain … I couldn’t feel the tension anymore, like the story kind of petered out into a study of different shades of gray …

But I believe this book is a must-read for anyone who loves Greek mythology … the author reimagines the character of Circe as a mythological force to be reckoned with … I can hardly wait for any future retellings of mythological literature …. ...more

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Jul 03, 2023 liana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-would-reread, irreversible-emotional-damage

5 stars//

circe was a book i did not expect to love as much as i did. it blew me away with its prominent characters and impeccable storytelling.

this is by far the best depiction of female rage i have encountered. madeline miller uses circe to show all the different types of emotions women face and keep down as they go through all the different chapters of life. whether it be a naive vengeful lover, or a young woman who is now discovering the patriarchy in all its worst ways, or a mother who just ...more

17 likes · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2019 Jess Penhallow rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, goodreads-choice-awards-winner, bc, greece

This was THE BOOK of 2018 and I can see why. It is very cleverly crafted and I loved how all the different myths were weaved into the story. Circe was a complex yet likeable character and I really felt for her throughout the story. Despite many missteps she had a real heart to her and was clearly trying to do the right thing.

I must also comment on the female relationships in this book. (view spoiler) ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Apr 01, 2021 Lila rated it really liked it

It feels like short stories that became a book. Don't get me wrong, I love Greek mythology and even then found it interesting. But it still felt like no major plot happened. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

Sep 02, 2021 ☾ Nikki. ✿ SUGARVOGUE. rated it liked it

A great book !!

Three stars | ⭐⭐⭐

✉ E: nikkisugarvogue@gmail.com
✎W:sugarvoguenikki.blogspot.com/
* https://linktr.ee/Sugarvogue ...more

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Feb 08, 2022 Paula rated it it was amazing

Simplemente perfecto. Madeline Miller lo vuelve a hacer. Su escritura es magnífica y nos cuenta la historia de Circe de una manera más feminista. La canción de Aquiles me enamoró de su escritura y Circe lo ha hecho otra vez, no puedo esperar a leer más de esta autora.

2 likes · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2022 Daniy ♠ marked it as dnf

Shelves: authors-i-wont-read

Madeline Miller writting feels like dry skin.

2 likes · Like · see review

May 27, 2021 Jaid rated it really liked it

Shelves: hs-bob-2021, mythology-retellings

3.5 stars, rated up.

I liked this book. I probably would've enjoyed it more if I were more into Greek mythology. But I have always been curious to have a more in-depth story about Circe, and this really fulfilled me. Fun fact: Circe was a name I wanted for a daughter. What can I say - I'm in love with misunderstood, powerful women.

The best part of this book to me was the way Madeline Miller portrayed the love of a mother. That part alone makes it worth the read in my opinion. ...more

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