Name: Circe
ISBN: 9781526664587

Madeline Miller

The international Number One bestseller from the author of The Song of Achilles, shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction Woman. Witch. Myth. Mortal. Outcast. Lover. Destroyer. Survivor. CIRCE. In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is a strange child - not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and merc[Bokinfo].

Circe

I wish I had read this after figuring out that some books simply do not flow as well as audiobook as they do as read in print. I am sorry, Madeline Miller, for telling people for YEARS that this book was boring.

Miller's prose flows so much better when read with your own eyes - it is lovely and emotive without being overly flowery. Throughout the whole novel, there is a strong sense of focus on its themes and the questions it wants to inquire. For "Circe" is not simply an examination of the mythological character (or mythological characters) - a complex portrait of a figure too often painted by men - but an inquiry into the roles of women in Antiquity, on power and who gets to yield it, and the spaces we carve for ourselves in the face of divine punishment.

Miller's characters are layered and multidimensional. While the novel goes through several key Greek myths, it remains a quiet and introspective work with focus on the development of Circe's character - which is the biggest draw of the book, too. Miller is such a talented storyteller that one cannot help but be entirely immersed into the book, as if each reader is Circe herself.

I am so happy to be finally able to give this book its flowers.

2026 Re-read: 5☆
(Previously: 3☆)

I wish I had read this after figuring out that some books simply do not flow as well as audiobook as they do as read in print. I am sorry, Madeline Miller, for telling people for YEARS that this book was boring.

Miller's prose flows so much better when read with your own eyes - it is lovely and emotive without being overly flowery. Throughout the whole novel, there is a strong sense of focus on its themes and the questions it wants to inquire. For "Circe" is not simply an examination of the mythological character (or mythological characters) - a complex portrait of a figure too often painted by men - but an inquiry into the roles of women in Antiquity, on power and who gets to yield it, and the spaces we carve for ourselves in the face of divine punishment.

Miller's characters are layered and multidimensional. While the novel goes through several key Greek myths, it remains a quiet and introspective work with focus on the development of Circe's character - which is the biggest draw of the book, too. Miller is such a talented storyteller that one cannot help but be entirely immersed into the book, as if each reader is Circe herself.

I am so happy to be finally able to give this book its flowers.

Circe

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