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Madeline Miller

Circe Hardcover – April 10, 2018

by Madeline Miller (Author)

4.6 73,879 ratings

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This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times).

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.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.

#1 New York Times Bestseller -- named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the Washington Post, People, Time, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Refinery 29, Buzzfeed, Paste, Audible, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Thrillist, NYPL, Self, Real Simple, Goodreads, Boston Globe, Electric Literature, BookPage, the Guardian, Book Riot, Seattle Times, and Business Insider.

Print length

400 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Little, Brown and Company
Publication date

April 10, 2018
Dimensions

7 x 1.55 x 9.6 inches
ISBN-10

0316556343
ISBN-13

978-0316556347
Lexile measure

HL660L
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Popular Highlights in this book

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But perhaps no parent can truly see their child. When we look we see only the mirror of our own faults.
Highlighted by 12,834 Kindle readers
Beneath the smooth, familiar face of things is another that waits to tear the world in two.
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Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.
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From the Publisher

Circe, Madeline Miller, Song of Achilles, New York Times Bestseller


	Circe	Galatea	The Song of Achilles
	✓	✓	✓

Editorial Reviews

Review

Winner of the 2019 Indie Choice Award

Shortlisted for the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction

Named one of the 'Best Books of 2018' by NPR, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, People, Time, Amazon,Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Southern Living,and Refinery 29.

"Circe,' [is] a bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story that manages to be both epic and intimate in its scope, recasting the most infamous female figure from the Odyssey as a hero in her own right."―Alexandra Alter, New York Times

"One of the most amazing qualities of this novel [is]: We know how everything here turns out - we've known it for thousands of years - and yet in Miller's lush reimagining, the story feels harrowing and unexpected. The feminist light she shines on these events never distorts their original shape; it only illuminates details we hadn't noticed before."―Ron Charles, Washington Post

"[Miller] gives voice to Circe as a multifaceted and evolving character...'Circe' is very pleasurable to read, combining lively versions of familiar tales and snippets of other, related standards with a highly psychologized, redemptive and ultimately exculpatory account of the protagonist herself."―Claire Messud, New York Times Book Review

"The story of Circe's entanglement with Odysseus lasts far beyond the narrative of "The Odyssey," making for compelling material to revisit. But ultimately it's as a character that Circe stands apart....Through her elegant, psychologically acute prose, Miller gives us a rich female character who inhabits the spaces in between."
―Colleen Abel, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Miller's lush, gold-lit novel - told from the perspective of the witch whose name in Greek has echoes of a hawk and a weaver's shuttle - paints another picture: of a fierce goddess who, yes, turns men into pigs, but only because they deserve it."―NPR.org

"so vivid, so layered, you could get lost in it... Whether or not you think you like Greek Mythology, this is just great storytelling. It feels cinematic."―NPR's Here & Now

"Spellbinding..Miller has created a daring feminist take on a classic narrative; although the setting is a mystical world of gods, monsters, and nymphs, the protagonist at its heart is like any of us."―O Magazine

"Miller's spell builds slowly, but by the last page you'll be in awe. In prose of dreamlike simplicity, she reimagines the myth of Circe."―People

"Miller, with her academic bona fides and born instinct for storytelling, seamlessly grafts modern concepts of selfhood and independence to her mystical reveries of smoke and silver, nectar and bones."―Entertainment Weekly

"This telling, in the sorceress's own words, is not the version we think we know."―New York Times 'T Magazine'

"Miller gives voice to a previously muted perspective in the classics, forging a great romance from the scraps left to us by the ancients....Circe is, instead, a romp, an airy delight, a novel to be gobbled greedily in a single sitting."―Aida Edemariam, Guardian

"In Madeline Miller's "Circe" - the gorgeous and gimlet-eyed follow-up to her Orange Prize-winning first novel, "The Song of Achilles" - the goddess is young and romantic enough at the start to feel a tiny bit let down that she's not shackled to a rock like her uncle, Prometheus, getting her liver pecked out each day."
―Laura Collins-Hughes, Boston Globe

Ambitious in scope, Circe is above all the chronicle of an outsider woman who uses her power and wits to protect herself and the people she loves, ultimately looking within to define herself. Readers will savor the message of standing against a hostile world and forging a new way."―Shelf Awareness

"A retelling of ancient Greek lore gives exhilarating voice to a witch... [Circe is] a sly, petulant, and finally commanding voice that narrates the entirety of Miller's dazzling second novel....Readers will relish following the puzzle of this unpromising daughter of the sun god Helios and his wife, Perse, who had negligible use for their child....Expect Miller's readership to mushroom like one of Circe's spells. Miller makes Homer pertinent to women facing 21st-century monsters."―Kirkus, Starred Review

"An epic spanning thousands of years that's also a keep-you-up-all-night page turner."―Ann Patchett, author of Commonwealth

"With lyric beauty of language and melancholy evocative of Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn", CIRCE asks all the big questions of existence while framing them in the life story of the famous goddess who had the magic of transformations. A veritable Who's Who of the gods of Olympus and the heroes of ancient Greece, Circe knows them all and we see them through her perceptive eyes. This is as close as you will ever come to entering the world of mythology as a participant. Stunning, touching, and unique."―Margaret George, author of The Confessions of Young Nero

"Circe bears its own transformative magic, a power enabled by Miller's keen eye for beauty, adventure, and reinvention. Through the charms of a misfit heroine, the world of gods becomes stunningly alive, and the world of our own humanity--its questions, loves, and bonds--is illuminated. This book is an immense gift to anyone who reads to find their own bravery and quest."―Affinity Konar, author of Mischling

"Madeline Miller, master storyteller, conjures Circe glowing and alive - and makes the Gods, nymphs and heroes of ancient Greece walk forth in all their armored splendor. Richly detailed and written with such breathtaking command of story, you will be held enchanted. A breathtaking novel."―Helen Simonson, author of The Summer Before the War and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand

"Circe is the utterly captivating, exquisitely written, story of an ordinary, and extraordinary, woman's life"―Eimear McBride, author of A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing

"Written with power and grace, this enchanting, startling, gripping story casts a spell as strong and magical as any created by the sorceress Circe."―Mary Doria Russell, author of Epitaph

"Madeline Miller's re-imagining of the witch Circe from The Odyssey makes for an intriguing, feminist adventure novel that is perfectly suited for the #TimesUp moment. Circe is also a smart read that has much to say about the long-term consequences of war and a culture that values violence and conquest over compassion and learning...Miller mines intriguing details from the original tale to imagine a rich backstory for Circe that allows readers to re-visit the world of Olympians and Titans in Greek mythology. From the court of the Titans, the reader meets Circe's parents, the god Helios and nymph Perse, and is introduced to a world of supernatural power players that is every bit as back-biting, gossip-filled and vicious as any episode of House of Cards."

―May-Lee Chai, Dallas News

"'Circe' is a sentence-by-sentence miracle";―Michigan Daily

About the Author

Madeline Miller is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two novels: The Song of Achilles, which won the Orange Women’s Prize for Fiction 2012, and Circe, which was short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019. Her books have been translated into over thirty two languages. Miller holds an MA in Classics from Brown University, studied in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms, and taught Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over a decade.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown and Company; First Edition (April 10, 2018)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316556343
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316556347
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL660L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.55 x 9.6 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #14,197 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Ancient History Fiction (Books)
- #256 in Folklore (Books)
- #1,356 in Literary Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 73,879 ratings

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Madeline Miller

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Madeline Miller grew up in New York City and Philadelphia. She attended Brown University, where she earned her BA and MA in Classics. She has taught and tutored Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over fifteen years. She has also studied at the University of Chicago’s Committee on Social Thought, and in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms.

The Song of Achilles, her first novel, was awarded the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction and was a New York Times Bestseller. Her second novel, Circe, was an instant number 1 New York Times bestseller, and won the Indies Choice Best Adult Fiction of the Year Award and the Indies Choice Best Audiobook of the Year Award, as well as being shortlisted for the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction. Circe also won The Red Tentacle Award, an American Library Association Alex Award (adult books of special interest to teen readers), and the 2018 Elle Big Book Award. Miller's novels have been translated into over twenty-five languages including Dutch, Mandarin, Japanese, Turkish, Arabic and Greek, and her essays have appeared in a number of publications including the Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Telegraph, Lapham's Quarterly and NPR.org. Most recently, she has published a standalone short story, Galatea. She currently lives outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Visit her website at: www.madelinemiller.com

Photo credit: Nina Subin

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P. Chatterjee

best book I have read in a long time

Reviewed in the United States on November 3, 2023

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Maybe the best book I have read ever? 10 out of 10. Well written lyrical and with a surprisingly hefty plot

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Driver Dude

Fabulous book. An all-time favorite

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2023

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Remarkable writing and an engrossing story. I couldn't put it down. Brings the Greek gods to life. Not to be missed.

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2023

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I’m not even finished and I can say, it’s spectacular.

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Josef

A wonderful telling an old mythology.

Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2023

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I held off of this book as I was never one for fairy tales, I had thought. How wrong I was! This telling of one character of the Odyssey and all its permutations is at once old and new. A great read for those familiar with the take it is based upon and for those seeking remembrance.

Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2023

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Of the several books written about Greek mythology characters, I like “Circe” the best. In fact, I like Madeline Miller’s books best of all, having really enjoyed “The Song of Achilles” as well. I look forward to her next book, but I read that she suffers from Long COVID and her ability to write novels has been severely curtailed. I wish her all the best for a full recovery.

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mmonica

Interesting read

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2023

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Greek legends retold from Circe’s perspective and with a more human aspect. The writing and imagery is great and the length of the book is just right.

One person found this helpful

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lauren johnston

Decent read

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2023

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Worth the time especially if you like mythology. Same prose-like, flowery writing as son of Achilles. I have almost DNF'd both these books halfway through and the final chapters of both these books has brought the characters and their insights full circle and made me enjoy the journey more. Still wish it was a more exciting journey throughout the book.

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Karina Estrada

Amazing, read it in 4 days

Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2023

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Beautifully written and Beautifully ended

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Muse

This is without a doubt one of the best books that I’ve ever read!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2018

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I fell in love with Madeline Miller’s writing when I read The Song of Achilles, and I eagerly awaited the release of Circe, because I was desperate to experience the magic that is her storytelling once again. After reading The Song Of Achilles and Circe, I am certain that Miller was born to write about Greek Mythology. She has such a unique way of transporting you, effortlessly, into a time of Greek Gods, demigods, Greek heroes and those mortals either willingly, or unwillingly caught in their orbit. The Song of Achilles will always have a special place in my heart, but Circe is its close companion, as Miller soared to new heights with it and gave me an experience I will never forget. In Circe, we walked among Gods and Goddesses, witnessing myth after myth and it really was a feast for those who have a hunger for Greek Mythology, such as myself.

Our journey with Circe begins quite early on in her life when she is still a resident in her fathers halls, where he is very literally the light of her life, “He liked the way the obsidian reflected his light, the way its slick surface caught fire as he passed. Of course he did not consider how black it would be when he was gone. My father has never been able to imagine the world without himself in it.” The Sun God, Helios, is worshiped fiercely and so having the Sun for a father is a very complex thing indeed, you know that without him there will be no light and mortals and gods fear him alike, “some of the lesser gods could scarcely bare to look at him”. It’s understandable that you see him as others do, unreachable, glorious, mighty, and it would be impossible you know, and yet completely reasonable that you want to please him, and Circe does, she longs for him to just notice her, at the very least. She is not naive, simply blinded by the adoration bestowed upon Gods and fathers, “At my father’s feet, the whole world was made of gold…his flesh was hot as a brazier, and I pressed as close as he would let me”, however, as Circe grows, she can no longer fight the truth about her father, her family and the Gods at large, “She knew the stories of Helios’ temper when he was crossed. However gold he shines, do not forget his fire”. These beings are divine by blood alone, she doesn’t belong, couldn’t belong with them even if she tried, so she seeks comfort in a mortal and it is only fitting that this little Goddess, with far too many emotions than any God should have, lets love become her undoing.

My heart ached for Circe in those early chapters, she was all but trodden upon, ostracized by her siblings, Pasiphae and Perses, despised by her naiad mother Perse, with her only comfort being her brother Aeetes, “Her eyes are yellow as piss. Her voice is screechy as an owl…those were their earliest attempts at barbs, still dull, but day by day they sharpened”. Circe learns that any pleasure she finds in life is either taken away or soiled after a while, such is a life among immortals. Even with this knowledge you can’t help but try to will things to go right for her, and so when things don’t, I felt Circe’s pain as if it were my own, bore her humiliation, all the while feeling so mortified for her that it felt unkind to read about her hardships, almost as if I were adding to her embarrassment by simply observing it, “Circe’ he said, when he saw me. Just that, as if you might say: foot.” Those chapters were not easy, nor fair, but they ignited in me a fierce love for this heroine who was desperately clawing at an existence of her own, “all my life had been murk and depths, but I was not a part of that dark water. I was a creature within it”. When Circe is banished it feels simultaneously like a blessing and a curse, for she is free of her family, but, what is she without them…

Alone on her Island, Circe is forced to focus on herself in a way she never has before, she can no longer sit at her father’s feet or spend time avoiding those who barely tolerate her, and so begins her journey with the very thing that got her exiled: witchcraft. She is an amateur at first, but in time she learns to hone her craft and in turn, crafts a life for herself in this isolation,“I will not be a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open. I stepped into those woods and my life began”. She makes companions of the animals that wonder in her land, with her fierce lion like her shadow. She makes her mixtures and has her routines, her life is not necessarily full, but it is also not stifling like before, she is essentially caged on this Island, but she is also free in a way she never has been before, “what worse punishment could there be, my family thought, than to be deprived of their divine presence?”. And then the visitors come in unpredictable numbers and unpredictable times, and they force her to change again, they harden or soften her, make her paranoid where she had just once been curious, but every time, with every visitor she holds one thing steady in her being, witch, “I learned to bend the world to my will…I would have done that toil a thousand times to keep such power in my hands. I thought: this is how Zeus felt when he first lifted the thunderbolt”. She aids those in need of her help and deals with those who would do her harm, she triumphs as much as she fails, always arriving stronger and wiser on the other side.

Circe is ever changing, but what remains true at every turn, is that she is like no other titan, she doesn’t wish to be fawned over, she is content with being part of the story but not at the centre of it, “how did you know not to kneel to me? “Something Odysseus said ‘that he had never met a god who enjoyed their divinity less'”. So it is very comical indeed and at times tragic, how she finds herself caught up in what will be some of the greatest myths to stand the test of time. Alongside Circe’s personal transformation, the inclusion of all these Greek Myths had to be my favourite aspect of this book, and was definitely what blew me away the most. It is otherworldly how an author can combine so many tales in one story and not lose the essence of the main one, to have each one only add to it. I’ve never experienced this level of detail in a retelling and in so many of them, I’m completely flawed at the sheer genius of it all. I do have to say that I think that Circe’s story intertwining with Daedalus’ and Odysseus’ were probably my favourites though, “What brings the famous Daedalus to my shores?’ ‘I am honoured you would know me.’ His voice was steady as a west wind, warm and constant.” Her relationships with both of them were fascinating and beautifully displayed the woman she was becoming, “Odysseus, son of Laertes, the great traveller…he showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend that I had none”. All of the side characters were just as brilliant and fleshed out as Circe, such is the authors way, that they never truly felt like side characters, they all demanded your attention and seemed to exist independently of you reading this book.

I could gush about this book all day and still never do it justice, but there is just so much I want to highlight and praise Miller for, because I honestly can’t find one fault in this book. This is without a doubt one of the best books that I’ve ever read, let alone concerning Greek Mythology. I am so grateful for Madeline Miller’s contribution in keeping these wonderful stories alive and injecting new life into them with her amazing writing and vision. This was a powerful story about a young Goddess, trying to find her way in the world, which is one that will stir a sense of familiarity and companionship in anyone who has felt this in life, especially young women, “I pressed on. If my childhood had given me anything, it was endurance”. Miller skillfully looks at the dynamics between men and women, Greeks and Goddesses in Ancient Greece, and how our decisions really do make us, but it is never too late to take back control of your life. Circe transforms from being a timid little thing, to freely taking lovers, challenging greater Gods and turning men into pigs and I couldn’t of been prouder, “Any other day in all my years of life I would of curled upon myself and wept. But that day his scorn was like a spark falling on dry tinder”. I urge you to pick up this book and experience the story of Circe and the Greek Gods as you never have before, I dare you not to cower before them on the page, for they are that well written. Once again, Miller’s writing is as beautiful and sharp as ever, (I literally highlighted most of this book) and she has cemented her place as one, if not my favourite writer of all time, you’d only be doing yourself a disservice if you never pick up her work.

28 people found this helpful

Anuradha Gupta

“I will not be like a bird bred in a cage.”

Reviewed in India on May 31, 2020

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***SPOILERS AHEAD***

On the Facebook reader group, I heard a lot about Circe by Madeline Miller over the last year. Though I was enamored by its beautiful cover and an exotic title, I kept away because I thought it was one of those novels which would be highly demanding, my time and brainpower. I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment because my daughter was still demanding most of my time. It took a lockdown and a now less dependent child for me to finally pick this book up. And I am glad I did it. Circe follows the story of the Goddess daughter of the Sun God Helios and the nymph Perse over the course of several hundred years before leaving the reader on the verge of a further story.

“I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open.”

Circe had always been different. With her frail human-like voice and yellow eyes, she was the least wanted child of her parents. Despised by everyone in her family of Gods for her distinctness, Circe grows up at her father’s feet in the hopes of receiving his affections at least once. Neglected by him and her mother alike, she finds support and solace in her younger brother, whom she mothers when their own mother didn’t want him. But even he left her when his fate beckoned. Alone again, Circe started to spend most of her time away from everyone. She came face to face with Glaucos, a fisherman with whom she fell in love, on a secluded island she used to spend her time on. Her love for him became so profound that she magics him into a God. Once transformed, he, like others, neglects Circe and instead makes Scylla, a nymph the object of his affections. Enraged, Circe turns Scylla into a monster and finally discovers her powers of witchcraft. Threatened by her newfound powers, Zeus banishes her to the island of Aiaia for the rest of her life. But what an irony it was for her, she was free, yet she was a captive of the boundaries of her land.
At Aiaia, Circe began a new life. She honed her skills of witchcraft and made the island her home. Although she was banished, she wasn't denied meeting with people as long as they came to her. Daedalus was amongst the first persons to reach her, on the behest of her sister, to take her away for some time and help with her childbirth. Circe didn't share a hospitable relationship with her sister, but she still went, and what she saw was beyond her imagination. While she mended her sister's deeds, she also had a short affair with Daedalus. He was one of those for whom her heart ached for, even years later. As quickly as she had started from Aiaia, did she return. She had only Hermes, the trickster god, with whom she shared a no strings attached relationship, for her company then. Over the course of her life, Circe had suffered alone. So when the ship came, she was overjoyed to have someone in her house. She didn't know then that mortals were no better than her family of Gods in treating her. Abused, she put her witchcraft to use and saw that no men survived. She was expecting the same ruthless men when Odysseus's ship drew land on her island, but she hadn't known he would be different. A year later, when she bid him goodbye, she held his seed and birthed a boy, Telegonus. She held him close enough to not let Odysseus know that he even existed. But fate had other plans for this tiny mortal. The Goddess of war, Athena seemed to have taken a disliking to him and was hell-bent on killing him. And all of Circe's energies went into protecting her child, the child who grew up to leave her, to travel in search of his father and come back with his wife Penelope, and legitimate child Telemachus. Circe felt cornered on her own land, the land which had been hers for centuries, and only a confrontation would bring her peace. But was she ready for what would come with it?

“But perhaps no parent can truly see their child. When we look we see only the mirror of our own faults.”

I haven't read anything or know about Greek mythology. So when I picked this book up, I hadn't known what to expect except that it was a fantasy. I wasn't biased to the tales and the characters in any manner and I am glad I read this book this way. Written in simple language, Circe is a masterpiece. However lucid the prose might be, it is extremely beautiful. No, it isn't a poetic beauty, it is something that tugs at the heart with its simplicity. The story brings in many characters, strong ones and weak ones, but none steal Circe's thunder. She shines the brightest. It's admirable that the author doesn't lose her sight and sticks to the plot despite a number of subplots. Circe's hardships shape her course of life, her decisions a reflection of what she has faced, and her actions giving the Gods a run for their money and power. It is a powerhouse of Circe's strengths, a woman of her own making, much like today's times. A woman in this century could have easily been her, in fact, they are here to some extent, facing what she faced, discriminated on her looks, done away with as soon as the men realize that she can be a threat to them and seen as an object of lust and abuse. Much like Circe, the woman would rise, and claim her identity in a no man's land, only if they allowed her that much liberty. Alas! Circe's character arc is superbly written. From a loveless child to a bold young Goddess, from a loving sister to a lonely woman seeking love, from a meek witch living alone to a master of her art welcoming strangers into her house unknowing that they are at her mercy, from a banished nymph to a protecting mother, Miller draws out all her emotions and lays it bare for the readers. One would think that Gods wouldn't have much depth, but then, hey, Circe wasn't called the "Humane Goddess'' for nothing. She felt more human than any of the other characters to me.
I kept wondering how the story would end because Gods apparently don't die, and also wanting it not to end. I had no way to physically ascertain how much of the book was left since I was reading an ebook. But when I came to an end, I was overwhelmed, the way the climax reached me was seamless, like all throughout, I had been waiting for it to happen. For Circe to find what she was looking for all this time and letting go of what she never had the use for.

9 people found this helpful

Ralph Blumenau

A confusing beginning and end, but the bulk of the story is gripping

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2018

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The relationships between the ancient Greek deities – Titans, Olympians, naiads or nymphs, demi-gods who are offsprings of a divinity and a mortal, etc – is complicated and there are many different versions of them. Madeline Miller doesn’t make it any easier; so it takes some time before the book gets under way and becomes gripping. It is not clear to me whether Miller has invented some crucial episodes herself or whether she has drawn them from one of the many different sources about Circe. At any rate, I cannot find some of these episodes in the several books I have on Greek mythology or on the internet.

The story is told by Circe, who has very “human” emotions and endures much suffering at the hands of the inhuman gods. She is a naiad, daughter of the Titan sun-god Helios and the naiad Perse. In the novel’s first episode, she witnesses the Zeus’ punishment of her uncle Prometheus, which, initially, is different from the traditional story of being chained to a rock and daily having his liver eaten by an eagle. She risks trying to help him.

Because, unlike the other nymphs, Circe is plain-looking and has an ugly voice, she does not believe she will be allowed to marry a deity. She thinks she has no power. She falls in love with the mortal Glaucos. She manages to make him immortal (I must not reveal how). But he then falls in love with the beautiful but malicious nymph Scylla, who flirted with him but did not love him. Circe (by the same method) turns Scylla into a monstrous creature living in a rock opposite another rock under which lived another whirlpool-creating monster called Charybdis. Sailors are trapped as they pass through the narrow passage between the two rocks, and are devoured by Scylla. However, disposing of Scylla did not bring Glaucos back to Circe. She was told that the transformations of Glaucos and Scylla were none of her doing – but it emerged that she did indeed have such power, and that her siblings - her brothers Perses and Aeëtes and her sister Pasiphaë - have it also. They were all “pharmakis”: sorcerers or witches. But because Circe had used her powers against her own kind, she was exiled by her father Helios to the deserted but verdant island of Aiaia, which scholars think was off the west coast of Italy.

There, she is soon surprisingly content. She teaches herself skills that, as a nymph, she never had to use; and she experiments with various plants and, by trial and error, learns how to extract their magic transformative power. One of those plants, moly, can protect against evil. And she could tame wild animals.

She is often visited by the god Hermes who became her lover.

One day Daedalus, the great craftsman, arrives on the island in a ship. He is a mortal employed by Circe’s sister Pasiphaë and her husband King Minos of Crete, the mortal son of Zeus. Daedalus brings the message that Circe is summoned by her sister, who had heard of Circe’s magic, to assist the pregnant Queen to give birth, and that for that purpose her exile on the island was being temporarily lifted. (Knowing how spiteful and malevolent her sister was, towards her and towards everyone else, it is surprising that she heeded her summons. This is one of the episodes I can’t find anywhere else.) But the passage from the island to Crete has to go through the dangerous channel between Scylla and Charybdis (believed to be the Straits of Messina). Circe’s magic saw the ship through the peril.

Arrived in Knossos, she and Daedalus help to deliver the Queen of the monstrous Minotaur: a dramatic and horrifying scene. After a while, and after many insults from her sister, Circe was glad to be allowed to return to her island. Hermes continues to visit her there and to tell her of what happened in Crete after she left: of the labyrinth that Daedalus built to contain the Minotaur, of the story of Icarus, of the sacrifices made to the Minotaur, and of those of Theseus and of Ariadne.

The next ship to arrive at Circe’s island bore Jason and Medea. Medea is Circe’s niece, the daughter of her brother Aeëtes, now King of Colchis, owner of a golden fleece which, with Medea’s help, Jason had stolen from him and had sailed away with it. When Aeëtes had pursued the thieves, Medea had killed her brother whom they had taken hostage and threw pieces of him into the sea, forcing Aeëtes to give up the chase to give the pieces burial. (Much later she will be told the rest of the story of Medea and Jason.)

Several more ships arrive, their captains and crews planning violence against a woman all alone on the island. Circe turns them into pigs. She has done this to one crew when its captain, Odysseus, disembarked to look for them. He and his crew are the remnants of a fleet of twelve ships that are on their long and perilous journey back from the Trojan war, pursued by gods he had offended, who included his former protectress, Athena. He is the great-grandson of Hermes, who had told him of Circe’s spells, but has also supplied him with the protective herb moly. He wins Circe’s trust; she turned his crew back into men and took him to her bed. They stayed for several months; but eventually, to Circe’s sorrow, they set sail for Odysseus’ home on Ithaca, knowing what further perils awaited them on that journey.

When they had gone, Circe, after a long and painful pregnancy, gave birth to Odysseus’ son, Telegonus. Somehow, she defied Athena, who wanted the child dead there and then. Circe’s magic builds a protective shield around the island which even Athena cannot breach. She is totally devoted to the child, although for his first six years he was difficult, screaming and rebellious. But then he calmed down. When he was thirteen years old, she told him of his father, talking only of his good qualities, and hiding from him all the treacherous cruelties she knows he had committed during the Trojan War. Telegonus could never hear enough of him. When he was sixteen, he had built a ship: he had been visited by Hermes who promised to keep him safe on a journey to Ithaca to see his father. Reluctantly Circe let him go, after having secured for him from a sea monster called Trygon (the name of a stingray) a poisoned spine with which she tipped Telegonus’ spear.

Soon Telegonus is back with the grim news that Odysseus had contested his landing on Ithaca and had been killed by the poisoned spear. Telegonous brings with him Odysseus’ widow Penelope and their son Telemachus. Telemachus tells Circe that Odysseus could not bear the quiet life; he had vented his murderous rages on many citizens of Ithaca and was contemptuous and suspicion of Telemachus himself, whom he suspected of plotting against him. After Odysseus’ death, there was no future on Ithaca for Penelope and Telemachus. They bore no ill will towards Telegonus, so he had brought them with him to Aiaia.

The end is odd: Athena demands that Telemachus should return to Ithaca to rule it. He refuses. Athena then demands the same of Telegonus and he accepts. Sadly, Circe sees him go. Somehow she extorts her freedom from her father Helios, and leaves Aiaia together with Telemachus. One last encounter with Scylla and Charybdis and Scylla finally dies. From time to time they return to Aiaia, where they had left Penelope who herself has learnt witchery crafts. (I can find none of the events in this paragraph in my books or on the internet.) She marries Telemachus and they have two daughters. She seems content at last. But I find the end unclear with regard to both narrative and meaning.

10 people found this helpful

Cassie

Splendide ♡

Reviewed in France on May 13, 2023

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Tout d’abord, au vu des avis qui divergeaient et de sa notoriété sur les réseaux sociaux j’ai été vraiment très sceptique à propos de ce livre. J’ai repoussé de nombreuses fois son achat mais également sa lecture. Toutefois, j’ai décidé de me lancer et quelle claque je me suis prise ! Ce roman est bouleversant, touchant, magnifique, presque poétique. Il est une ode à soi, à l’autre mais surtout une ode à la femme. Cette histoire mythologique retrace les événements les plus importants et pour d’autres les plus connus de la mythologie grecque tout en suivant le destin de la jeune Circé. Donc si vous ne vous y connaissez pas en mythologie, aucun problème, l’autrice a cette faculté d’exprimer avec tant de beauté, de justesse et de simplicité l’histoire de cette jeune femme ainsi que l’origine de l’Olympe avec ses nombreux(ses) dieux et déesses. Ce récit à la première personne nous emporte réellement et complètement dans les pensées et sentiments de Circé. C’est une histoire si belle et époustouflante dans laquelle toutes les femmes peuvent se retrouver. Circé est l’héroïne parfaitement imparfaite et c’est cela qui la rend si attachante. Elle fait des erreurs, elle tombe, elle se relève et recommence, elle échoue, elle pleure, elle rit, elle aime, elle s’aime, elle apprend…
Ce récit comporte certains passages durs et profonds. Il aborde des sujets qui perdurent encore dans notre société. Finalement, Circé nous représente et est présente dans chaque femme. La plume de l’autrice est addictive et merveilleuse. Circé est éblouissante et son histoire est à la fois splendide et sombre. Elle fait face à la cruauté humaine mais aussi à celle des Dieux. Elle affronte ses épreuves avec bravoure et courage pour certaines même si pour la plupart il lui en manque. Mais ce n’est pas grave ! C’est justement cela qui rend cette immortelle humaine.
Les pages défilent, certaines vous briseront le cœur mais finalement on voudrait que Circé ne nous quitte jamais.
Détestant d’habitude les recommandations des réseaux sociaux je n’ai pu être que surprise par cette découverte. Je ne peux que vous recommander cette fabuleuse histoire.
Ce roman a été un immense coup de cœur.
Ce livre est magnifique autant à l’intérieur qu’à l’extérieur par sa version reliée !!! La version reliée est vraiment avantageuse par son prix, sa qualité et sa beauté !
Néanmoins, faites attention, un énorme rond vert est présent sur la couverture.( voir ma première photo) Une erreur marketing je suppose puisque cela enlaidit le devant du livre. Possibilité d’enlever la jaquette !
Pour terminer, la livraison a été extrêmement rapide. En effet, j’ai reçu mon colis le lendemain de ma commande. Emballage soigné, de ce fait, le roman était en parfait état !!!

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Dominick C.

Well written

Reviewed in Japan on November 5, 2023

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Highly recommend this book. My favorite read this year so far.

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