Madeline Miller

Circe

   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.

jana 

Penelope said, “What makes a witch, then? If it is not divinity?" 

“I do not know for certain,” I said. “I once thought it was passed trough blood, but Telegonus has no spells in him. I have come to believe it is mostly will." 

She nodded. I did not have to explain. We knew what will was.

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

Within him was an ocean’s worth of grief, which could only be stopped a moment, never emptied.

Aksara

I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands.

Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive.

"What did you do? When you could-not make Achilles and Agamemnon listen?"

"That is easy. You make a plan in which they do not"

As it turned out, I did kill pigs that night after all.

He was beautiful – like a god, the poets would say.

Of all the mortals on earth, there are only a few the gods will ever hear of. Consider the practicalities. By the time we learn their names, they are dead. They must be meteors indeed to catch our attention. The merely good: you are dust to us.

I do not think anyone can say what is in someone else.

That is one thing gods and mortals share. When we are young, we think ourselves the first to have each feeling in the world.

Seka.

They do not care if you are good. They barely care if you are wicked. The only thing that makes them listen is power.

He looked down at my fingers a moment, then up into my face. “You pity me. Do not. My father lied about many things, but he was right when he called me a coward. I let him be what he was for year after year, raging and beating the servants, shouting at my mother, and turning our house to ash. He told me to help him kill the suitors and I did it. Then he told me to kill all the men who had aided them, and I did that too. Then he commanded me to gather up all the slave girls who had ever lain with one of them and make them clean the blood-soaked floor, and when they were finished, I was to kill them as well.”

i do not claim this man, i only claim the epic musical ody 😭

I had seen him in such moods. Every petty defect of the world enraged him, all the waste and stupidity and slowness of men, and all the irritants of nature too, biting flies and warping wood and the briars that ripped his cloak.

istg madeline i didnt need a reminder 😭

“His lover, Patroclus. He didn’t like me much, but then the good ones never do. Achilles went mad when he died; nearly mad, anyway.”

He did not finish. His rib cage cracked and began to bulge. I heard the sound of flesh rupturing wetly, the pops of breaking bone. His nose ballooned from his face, and his legs shriveled like a fly sucked by a spider. He fell to all fours. He screamed, and his men screamed with him. It went on for a long time.

Though I was a god, and she a mortal. She would fight the whole world.

“Niece,” I said, “I will not keep you against your will. But if you ever—”

“No,” she said. “I want nothing more from you.”

But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me.

He looked up, the fire caught in his face. “Do you sing?”

That was another thing about him. He made you want to spill your secrets.

I went there every day. The brine stung my skin, and he was often too busy with admiring guests to give me more than the briefest smile, but I did not mind. 

No, I thought. My grandfather’s halls are filled with shining nymphs and muscled river-gods, but I would rather gaze on you than any of them.

Once when I was young I asked what mortals looked like. My father said, “You may say they are shaped like us, but only as the worm is shaped like the whale.”

Macy HB

Is there a moment that a heart cracks? But a cracked heart was not enough, and I had grown wise enough to know it. I kissed him and left him there.

A little bias since I love reading retelling stories in the female’s perspective.

Cristina S

A lot of beautiful imagery and world building but can be endlessly slow at times, even if that is the point to show her isolation and captivity on the island. A lot of actual truth from the myths are glossed over to make it more digestible. It just felt very watered down and poorly portrayed in an attempt to make her likeable and the story a ‘feminist tale’ while ripping into every other female character in the story (Athena mainly). In the Odyssey, Circe is a powerful character, a Witch to be feared as she turns men into animals, however in this book she just seems weakened in an attempt to make her more likeable to audiences. Although I did like some changes, after all this is being told through a modern lens, it is only fair that changes would be made to make Circe a more ‘modern woman’ for audiences to relate to. Removing original myth from the plot though, it truly is a beautiful tale of isolation and someones psyche as she goes through her days after being wronged by so many people around her — you could even argue that the fact she can be so vulnerable at times is her true strength which I would agree with. I do believe that Miller has a habit of infantilising her characters which can be jarring to read sometimes but I can really appreciate the beautiful and introspective writing and the relatable dialogue from Circe herself.

Lotuskisus

Jacob Atchison

Vincent Osvald

I picked up Circe almost by accident. Greek mythology has never been my usual genre, and tbh I didn't expect much, not that I'd finish the entire book in a week. :] 

There’s something in the way Circe lives, maybe it’s her loneliness, or the kindness she keeps offering despite being met with betrayal. She is flawed, stubborn, and painfully self-aware, which makes her feel less like a myth and more like someone you could meet or maybe already know. By the time I reached the ending, I felt suspended between satisfaction and longing. Her bond with Telemachus made perfect sense, he's steady, patient, and grounded in a way she deserves after everything she endured.

I picked up Circe almost by accident. Greek mythology has never been my usual genre, and tbh I didn't expect much, not that I'd finish the entire book in a week. :] 

There’s something in the way Circe lives, maybe it’s her loneliness, or the kindness she keeps offering despite being met with betrayal. She is flawed, stubborn, and painfully self-aware, which makes her feel less like a myth and more like someone you could meet or maybe already know. By the time I reached the ending, I felt suspended between satisfaction and longing. Her bond with Telemachus made perfect sense, he's steady, patient, and grounded in a way she deserves after everything she endured.

Honestly, i could read more about her adventures with Telemachus 😔

Agnese

Buku ini menceritakan kisah yang sangat panjang— berabad-abad— hampir tidak bisa dihitung oleh waktu. Secara keseluruhan, buku ini sangat menakjubkan karena selain menampilkan kehidupan Circe yang penuh lika-liku, juga menceritakan berbagai kisah yang ada dalam mitologi Yunani, seperti kisah Dandelaus dan anaknya— Icarus, Ariadne dan Minotaurus, serta kisah perjalanan Odysseus yang berakhir dengan ironis. Walaupun aku berpikir bahwa akhir buku ini membuat perasaan campur aduk dan merasa sedikit 'aneh', tetapi aku cukup menikmati masa-masa membaca kisah yang menakjubkan dan terasa amat panjang ini.

I normally eat up Greek mythology /retellings but I feel like it was so glossed over / missed opportunity for beautiful nature imagery etc

maddy rowley

This was fine 

I normally eat up Greek mythology /retellings but I feel like it was so glossed over / missed opportunity for beautiful nature imagery etc

The storyline that spanned a thousand years. The adventures of Circe, both conquests and tragedies summed to a beautiful tale of grief and gain. The effects her life had throughout time were inspire persistence and patience. I loved the character development and writing style. If you enjoyed The Song of Achilles then I would highly recommend.

Anna

A very easy read, and even when the story was slow it was entertaining. 14 year old me would go wild. 

Madeline’s writing is wonderful and it was a lovely story.

Denisse Garcia Ramírez 

A very easy read, and even when the story was slow it was entertaining. 14 year old me would go wild. 

Madeline’s writing is wonderful and it was a lovely story.

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Circe is strange — not powerful and terrible, like her father, nor gorgeous and mercenary like her mother. But she has a dark power of her own : witchcraft. When Circe's gift threatens the gods, she is banished to the island of Aiaia where she hones her occult craft, casting spells, gathering strange herbs and taming wild beasts. Yet a woman who stands alone cannot live in peace for long — and among her island's guests is an unexpected visitor : the mortal Odysseus, for whom Circe will risk everything.

How can I even start this review? This took me sometime to read because I just read one chapter and I wasn't really into it, and it was one of the least that got my attention, but bro getting back to it, and being able to sit and go through Circe's journey which features cameos of other famous Greek myths, was a delight and heartbreak in almost equal manner. 

I must say  it is impressive how the secondary and minor characters, despite their small roles in it, are so dynamic and whole and even if we only get a small summary of what happens to them, when you have them present in a scene you can later understand and imagine how they end up they way they did, although if you know a lot about myths you will know their fate already. 

Circe being the sole focus of the book, and the roles she played throughout these different stories is so compelling. How hers is built, how she grows and change through it is mostly a grim and tragic story, however, you cannot help but cheer for her to be triumphant through all her challenges and desires. Moreover, whenever she was content, you couldn't help but being overjoyed for her too.

How can I even start this review? This took me sometime to read because I just read one chapter and I wasn't really into it, and it was one of the least that got my attention, but bro getting back to it, and being able to sit and go through Circe's journey which features cameos of other famous Greek myths, was a delight and heartbreak in almost equal manner. 

I must say  it is impressive how the secondary and minor characters, despite their small roles in it, are so dynamic and whole and even if we only get a small summary of what happens to them, when you have them present in a scene you can later understand and imagine how they end up they way they did, although if you know a lot about myths you will know their fate already. 

Circe being the sole focus of the book, and the roles she played throughout these different stories is so compelling. How hers is built, how she grows and change through it is mostly a grim and tragic story, however, you cannot help but cheer for her to be triumphant through all her challenges and desires. Moreover, whenever she was content, you couldn't help but being overjoyed for her too.

Further confirms that my favorite genre is traumatized witch women who fight for their own freedoms and happiness 

Chelsea

vincent osvald

girlhood!!! the riordan inspired love for greek mythology will never end

felicity hu

madeline miller's circe was a magical read. while i expected it to be a 5 star read for the way circe's character was written, captivating plot, and miller's ability to write the most beautiful sentences. however, parts of the story were dragged out for chapters that felt unnecessary. otherwise, circe's story was a tale of passion, heartbreak and strength, and it added colour to the more mundane and mortal parts of life.

hira

Myriam Boulanger Lapointe

— I REALLY enjoyed this book, but it did have some things I really didn't like, especially at the end

— Miller's language. The writing was beautiful, and I actually wrote three of them down, which I didn't even do for the Priory.

— The emotions this book pulled from me was a very pleasant surprise. I kept feeling like I needed to cry, which I rarely do for books.

— I loved how mythology was woven together. While Miller takes some liberties, everything was recognizable from the texts I read back at uni and for fun.

— Circe's voice was also lovely. Her complexities and the style with which Miller had her articulate them was magnificent.

— The ending wrapped up a little too fast for me. I feel like pacing could have been a bit better, especially after Odysseus leaves Circe's island.

— What on earth was Circe's relationship with Odysseus's son? Like that's your child's half-brother!? I don't think this is drawn from actual mythology, and it seemed out of character. Like I get he was connected to multiple of her former lovers but no.

Overall, I have to say that I really loved it, and it could have been one of my favorite books of all time if not for the flaws in the ending. It's still a book that I know I'll read over and over again and recommend, but I can't say it was perfection.

Norie

— I REALLY enjoyed this book, but it did have some things I really didn't like, especially at the end

The Good: 

— Miller's language. The writing was beautiful, and I actually wrote three of them down, which I didn't even do for the Priory.

— The emotions this book pulled from me was a very pleasant surprise. I kept feeling like I needed to cry, which I rarely do for books.

— I loved how mythology was woven together. While Miller takes some liberties, everything was recognizable from the texts I read back at uni and for fun.

— Circe's voice was also lovely. Her complexities and the style with which Miller had her articulate them was magnificent.

The Meh:

— The ending wrapped up a little too fast for me. I feel like pacing could have been a bit better, especially after Odysseus leaves Circe's island.

The Bad

— What on earth was Circe's relationship with Odysseus's son? Like that's your child's half-brother!? I don't think this is drawn from actual mythology, and it seemed out of character. Like I get he was connected to multiple of her former lovers but no.

Overall, I have to say that I really loved it, and it could have been one of my favorite books of all time if not for the flaws in the ending. It's still a book that I know I'll read over and over again and recommend, but I can't say it was perfection.

★★★★

Amina

I have less to say about what actually happened in the book than what I have to say about what it did to me. something shifted inside fr

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.

When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.

There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

Eva Ströberg

I thought The Songs of Achilles was great, but this book was phenomenal. It brings my interest back to Greek mythology that I had long thought as complicated and nuissance to read.

The story is about Circe, the daugher of Helios, the sun god. That average girl in high school, probably with mouth braces and giant spectacles that we all know from those high school dramas. Unloved and bullied, but somehow managed to find her way in the world among the dispute between the Titans and the Olympians, through wit and witchcraft. 

She was banished to Aiaia for making some monsters, but thrived in her isolation and even managed to snag clever-witted Odysseus (on his long way home) and sired a son from him.

It’s Greek mythology, from feminist perspective, because we (women) can all relate to Circe. Downplayed, mansplained and thought irrelevant, but she managed to find her way in the world. 

Miller is definitely an expert in making Greek mythology easy to read and relate to the modern life

The characters were too confusing. However, I really enjoyed reading about her life and adventures. The research Miller did was amazing and the way she wrote was too. It was a bit slow for me though.

Anna 

do kirke jsem se zamilovala rychleji, než jsem čekala. ten poetický jazyk, kterým je kniha přeložena, je naprosto úchvatný a krásně vdechuje celému příběhu onu božskou povahu. jsem ráda, že jsem se konečně ke čtení knihy dostala, a mohla jsem společně s kirke zažívat první lásky, chodit bosa po písku a připravovat silné lektvary, ale zároveň jsem s ní hořela na popel a začala chápat, o čem ten život vlastně je. nedokážu ani popsat, jak moc jsem si čtení užila, i když jsem četla v průměru 20 stran denně. je to ta kniha, která vás donutí zamilovat se do antiky, díky ní skutečně pocítíte, jak se asi tehdy žilo, a dá vám to jiskru naděje, že všichni tihle bohové skutečně někdy existovali.
kirke se dostala na žebříček mých nejoblíbenějších knih vůbec, což je velmi ojedinělé. doufám, že se brzy pustím do achilleovy písně, kterou také napsala miller.
.
5*/5* prosím vás, i když nejse fanoušci antického řecka, tohle si přečtěte, už jen kvůli tomu nádhernému jazyku.

Chris Dailey

Mythology takes on a human face in the this "revisionist history" of the witch Circe infamously known for turning Odysseus's crew into swine during their Odyssey. Set in the Age of Heroes, we follow Circe nymph daughter of Helios, the Titan god of the Sun as she navigates the angst of isolation and anxiety of being the neglected child while she lives amongst the Titans. Filled with the classic tales of the ancient gods told in a first-hand, gossip like manner we meet Prometheus, Hermes, Scylla, Jason, Icarus, Athena and many more. The real strength comes from turning epic names into intimate faces with all the fears and envies you'd expect from mortals. Building on this, themes of love, loneliness, friendship, betrayal, cynicism and mortality are all center stage. Especially enjoyable for amateur historians and lovers of the ancient world, this one is a crowd pleaser overall.

Circe

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