Hi everyone, today I am penning my thoughts on Circe which had me feeling meh! If you’re not familiar with Circe, she is referenced as a side character in quite a few Greek Mythologies. Perhaps one of her most famous (scandalous) mentions is “Turning Odysseus’s men into pigs on her islands.”
I must admit I binged through this well into the wee hours of the morning because my expectations were so high I did not want to put it down for fear of missing out. I wish I did put it down and pace myself appropriately because every time I thought we were reaching some vertex or that the story would magically unfold I was left feeling unfulfilled.
Perhaps this is the curse all books that are extremely hyped or over marketed face- unrealistic expectations? This is not to say that Circe was bad, just that my standards were set so high I psyched myself up instead of letting the words speak for themselves. I loved the lush writing of Miller whose words are like poetry and her quotes that deserve to be set in stone however Circe left much to be desired.
Title: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Publisher: Little Brown Company
Length: 393 pages
Genre: Fantasy | Mythology
Format: Hardcover
Synopsis
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child – not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power – the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.
Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.
But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
My Review
How a morally grey side character got her own narrative.
This brilliantly spun retelling of Circe by Madeline Miller features Circe as the main character and gives a captivatingly honest perspective of her trial and tribulations growing up. I love how Madeline was able to articulate Circe’s personal growth from a shy and naïve girl to a woman hardened by life’s experiences.
I relished that a woman was seen, not as a catalyst for some great journey by a man, as is so often the case in Greek literature (Medusa, Helen, etc.) but as her own catalyst, her own being, her own uniquely interesting character. I cannot help but feel that Circe can very well and truly be the ultimate underdog of Greek mythology.
While I read Circe, I couldn’t help but compare it to holding a friend’s hand while taking a stroll down memory lane. It felt almost like a biography, about a girl who has her heart broken by a man that she gave the moon and the stars too. A story about her journey of self-actualization of the kind of person she wishes to be, who took matters into her own hands and wrote her own destiny, who wasn’t afraid to accept the consequences of her decisions, and who created a life of her choosing.
There is no magical solution or mystical act of fate, but rather a woman’s actions, pure and unfiltered, her emotions laid bare for all to see. I love that for once, a woman is able to put men in their place, she is able to consort with men openly and on her own terms, she is able to create a life on her own terms- not dictated by her family.
I’ve read a lot of reviews before taking the leap with this book, and I can’t help feeling that the impetus of this story should be mentioned or rather the human way in which Circe is portrayed. I mean, what would Circe’s journey be if she had not been a woman scorned? What would her story have been like, if she had the emotional capacity of a God, instead of her fairly human emotions?
For me, Circe is a morally grey character but I’m most definitely not holding that against her. In charting her own course, she has had to make life or death decisions, has had to abandon everything she has ever known or loved, has been constantly put down by those she sought approval from, and thrown nasty curveballs left, right and center. Circe displayed an inner strength in a way only a woman can.
To have read her story, felt her emotions, walked the proverbial mile in her shoes, I believe there can be no right or wrong, black or white solutions only the truth.
I fear I cannot write upon my musings of Circe without mentioning how emotional it was. To have felt the bitter sting of rejection, the harsh realities of deception, the loneliness of being ostracized, the beauty in friendship and love, and the power of freedom was indescribable. I appreciated the strong theme of family throughout the novel, especially in its various iterations. Circe at its core brought to light the hard truths of family, or more so, that family may not always be those of blood, but rather those you have created a special bond with.
Circe was poetry in motion and I adored every minute of it.
For me, I found that certain areas of the novel dragged a bit, and certain areas were a bit “dull”. The slow build, while necessary for creating a complete story was a bit too slow for my taste (this is my personal opinion). I am quite happy to have persevered onwards because the story truly is amazing. Based on the content within the novel, it is evident that massive time went into researching the content for this. There were endless links and connections to famous Greek mythology which only served to enhance the quality and the beauty of the story.
It would be remiss of me to review Circe without touching on the prodigious talent of Madeline Miller.
How can I describe the beauty of her writing with my mere palette of words?
Personally, it was a powerful lesson– that when you are at your lowest point, you will find the answers from within. You can save yourself, just trust in your being.
Favorite Quotes
“He showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend that I had none.”
“I thought: I cannot bear this world a moment longer. Then, child, make another.”
“You threw me to the crows, but it turns out I prefer them to you.”
Thanks so much for reading my review. Feel free to check out my bookstagram or follow me on Goodreads!
Jessica Reads It 