Madeline Miller broke my heart to pieces once again. I wonder if she will ever write a book that won't make me feel devastated for months.

I loved The Song of Achilles a lot, it was a brilliant read. I also adored Galatea to pieces, but I was absolutely nervous about Circe. Mostly because the canon literature on her is scarce, there's not as much information on her as there was on Achilles and Patroclus. So, I knew Miller would have to fill in the gaps and oh, she did. She did it spectacularly too. I don't even know why I had doubts.

I have an advice for all of you who already read TSOA, don't go into Circe expecting it to be super similar to Miller's debut because it won't be. Circe is so much more character-focused, unlike TSOA which was very action-packed/plot focused. Also, ships aren't as much of a focus here either (though there is romance!!!).

Now that we're in the clear about this, let's get into the things that made Circe as stellar as I say it was.

The characterization was amazing. God, Madeline Miller creates some of the most realistic, flawed characters in modern literature. And no matter how many flaws they might have, you'll root for them until the very end. Circe is the daughter of Helios, the Titan of Sun and of nymph Perse and she's quite a misfit in her family from the very beginning. Not beautiful enough, not powerful enough, never enough, Circe is kind of a faded figure in her family.

Because of that, she's also the easiest to dispose of. Something that happens when she's sent in exile because of something she did. You see Circe is a witch and Zeus isn't super happy about it. Therefore, exile it is.

I was kind of worried at how the plot will evolve from here because Circe is in exile, she can't really move from her island, most books would have lost their substance from here and bore the reader. But not in this case. Circe was still a witness to many major events from mythology (which I considered to be a cool thing - I know some people didn't enjoy those parts as much, but I really adored them. Achilles and Patroclus were briefly mentioned in a very "let's-kill-the-shippers-once-again" manner, Medea made an appearance, Daedalus as well and lots of gods & goddesses).

Awful men get what they deserve and I'm so here for it!!!

Odysseus was also a big part of this book, as expected and once again, I questioned everything I ever thought about him. When I first read The Odyssey, I admired his cleverness a lot, he had been my favourite ever since The Iliad because of the whole Trojan Horse plot. Now, I've read them when I was a child and I read an edited version in Romanian specifically for children, which means many things weren't included. But now, Circe raised some important questions about him and made me even more aware of how much I need to reread Homer's books - this time not the children edition.

I liked how Miller reinterpreted the scene between Circe and Odysseus and gave it a more logical spin. Also, this book is so feminist, it makes me cry when I think how this amazing author takes everything from mythology (even problematic stuff) and turns it to gold. Madeline Miller is King Midas in disguise, mark my words.

The only thing that I didn't really feel super enthusiastic about was the romance (or Circe's "endgame"). I'll just never get used to how relationships work when it comes to mythology, Still loved the metaphor at the end and Circe becoming who she truly had been from the beginning.

Would recommend this book to everyone who's passionate about mythology, feminism and character-orientated books.

Actually I recommend it to everyone, just go and read the book, please!

Title: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Genre: Fiction, literary fiction, mythology
Rating: 4.5/5

Circe is the daughter of Helios, god of the sun and the mightiest Titan. Her mother is both cruel and alluring. Circe is not like either of them. Nor is she like her three siblings, striving for power and fame.

Circe prefers the company of fragile mortals to that of the powerful—and cruel—gods. In her search for companionship, Circe discovers she does have power: that of witchcraft. Her power to transform her rivals into monsters makes the gods fear her, and she is banished by Zeus himself to a deserted island.

There, Circe learns her craft, growing in power and knowledge as she comes to know some of the most famous individuals in mythology: The Minotaur, Medea, Daedalus, and especially the mighty Odysseus. But Circe draws the anger of one of the most powerful god in existence, and it will take all of skills and cunning to survive—and to decide if she will be a god, or a mortal.

I’ve always loved mythology, and I knew a tiny bit about Circe from a year spent studying mythology in high school (Thank you, Mrs. Skidmore!), but this novel is a riveting and personal journey into Circe’s life. Her treatment at the hands of the gods made me sad—kind of like the behavior of a lot of society these days—and her fumbling attempts to find friends and figure out her own truths drew my sympathy.

I loved reading about mythology from an insiders’ view—I truly felt I was part of the tale, experiencing Circe’s pain, grief, horror, and happiness right along with her. Well-written and engrossing, this book is a journey readers will love to take!

Madeline Miller is the award-winning author of The Song of Achilles. Her newest novel is Circe.

(Galley provided by Little, Brown and Company in exchange for an honest review.)

This book lives up to the hype! I wasn't expecting to be quite so taken with it, but I powered through it in a weekend.

*eARC kindly provided by Little Brown, and Company via NetGalley*

Very much in the same vein as The Song of Achilles. It had the feel of ancient times, when the gods and goddesses ruled, when heroes were just mortal men who weren't strictly good or bad. I was enchanted from the first page to the last. It did lose me a little bit in the second half, but I think that was perhaps more due to the characters who come into play. And how I wasn't sure where the story was gonna go after everything that happens (I didn't really care about the Odysseus part of the storyline, even though it played hugely into Circe's life, so I was sometimes more invested in the beginning). But I really loved that ending. It was beautiful, and fitting, and this was just a pretty damn good book!

Rating: 4.5 Paw Prints!

Today I’ll be reviewing Circe, which is by the same author who wrote The Song of Achilles. Even though I had the eARC since…forever, I actually didn’t read this until release day. Before I go into my review (if I even know how to DO that anymore), I want to mention that I literally read this all in one day. So if anything, you should at least take away that it was THAT good. But, this honestly might just be me. I’m currently in a Greek mythology phase at the moment, with playing God of War and all, and so maybe I enjoyed Circe so much because I was in the right mood.

Let’s talk about Circe. For one, she’s a badass, not doubt about it. Yet, this is the first time I've heard about her story, as I never read Odysseus in high school (let alone spell it). And though I do know the basic storyline of Odysseus, this is my first time learning about Circe. Well, the author’s take of the story, at least. But nevertheless, the author tells it as if it were really part of Greek mythology.

Cool Things I Liked:
• This book is all about Circe. And she is awesome, as I’ve mentioned before.
• How Circe’s life prospered even though she was all alone on an island, thanks to Zeus. And her relationship with everyone who visited her
• In regards to these relationships, the people and gods Circe met were from different myths. Though I’m not overly familiar with them, the stories of the Minotaur, Medea, Daedalus & Icarus, and Odysseus all intertwined with Circe’s. Honestly the only thing I know about Icarus is from a song by Bastille, so that’s how I get my Greek mythology.

Overall, even though I have no idea how close this compares to the actual mythology, I fell in love with this book. It’s definitely a new favorite. And I absolutely recommend this book to anyone who loved The Song of Achilles, or just loves mythology in general (in which that case, read both).

Circe is so beautifully written. I bought the hardback and then the audio and now the digital version, which will help when I touch an unfamiliar word. Miller's prose is beautiful and poignant -I found some sentences so mesmerizing and succinct, I (horrors) turned down a page or two! Her story of bravery found through years of subjugation is awe-inspiring and life-affirming. I immediately purchased Song of Achilles and am now reading (and loving) that one too. Recommending it to everyone.

Circe by Madeline Miller. (I wrote about this on my other blog in April. I'm just copying and pasting instead of writing another review)

It was wonderful! Beautiful prose and a fascinating look at myths and gods from the point of view of Circe, daughter of Helios, who drove his chariot of the sun across the sky each day. Circe (unloved child, nymph, sorceress, witch) exiled to her island tells her version of the gods and heroes and monsters she knew.

Circe has a depth that the other, more powerful gods lack. She has the ability of introspection; she makes mistakes and regrets them. She resents the power of both the Titans and the Olympians and stands against them as best she can.

Her first rebellion was a kindness to Prometheus when--as a timid child--she brought him nectar in secret. Prometheus, the god who aided mortals, is aided by the young Circe; a theme develops.

A few excerpts...

At one point, Circe speaks of her beautiful loom, a gift from Daedalus, innovator and craftsman:

"I have it still. It sits near my hearth and has even found its way into the songs. Perhaps that is no surprise, Poets like such symmetries: Witch Circe skilled at spinning spells and threads alike, at weaving charms and cloths. Who am I to spoil an easy hexameter?"

She recalls a song she has heard of her meeting with Odysseus: "I was not surprised by the portrait of myself: the proud witch undone before the hero's sword, kneeling and begging for mercy. Humbling women seems to be a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep."

Later, in a conversation with Penelope, Penelope tells Circe: "I am from Sparta. We know about old soldiers there. The trembling hands, the startling from sleep. The man who spills his wine every time the trumpets blow." I like that passage because I never thought of the Greek warriors suffering from PTSD, but of course they did.
-----------
Madeline Miller's Circe is one of my favorite retellings of ancient myths. I love the way different authors interpret the stories: telling the tales from one POV or another, adhering to the original or expanding and enhancing incidents, and sometimes, changing outcomes entirely.

There are also some other wonderful retellings available: The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood and Weight by Jeanette Winterson are also great examples of modern mythic retellings; these are much shorter, condensed, but powerful. Antigo Nick is a campy, amusing modern translation of Antigone by Anne Carson.

Read in April. Blog post scheduled for June 26.

NetGalley/Little, Brown

Historical Fiction/Myth. July 10, 2018. Print length: 400 pages.

4.5 stars. Madeline Miller has the most gorgeous way with words. From the moment I started reading, I was spellbound. This was definitely an odder book than The Song of Achilles because it dealt so directly with the gods and with their peculiarities- not aging and the passage of time amongst them. So that was a little hard to wrap my head around. But from the beginning I loved Circe herself. Such a dynamic, strong-willed character with hidden depths. I loved the mythological stories and persons woven throughout her tale. And I especially enjoyed the second half of the book once she was on her island- the daily life, the animals, the herbs. There were some surprises for me with the characters and I thought they were well done. She is such a master as drafting three dimensional people. And Ms. Miller somehow manages to write the perfect ending, again. It left me very satisfied and wanting to dive back into her words. I'm not sure if I loved it as much as TSOA but it stands very well on its own merits. I can't wait to see what she writes next, I'll read anything!

My favorite line (which I dogeared my book for, WORTH IT): "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."

When I read The Song of Achilles, I remember being distinctly underwhelmed by it. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely loved it and I rated it highly (four stars). But after all the hype surrounding it I had expected to have my mind absolutely blown and it just…wasn’t. This was pretty much my reaction to reading Circe. I loved what it did with Circe’s story, but I loved it a very normal amount.

Praise to Miller’s writing skill, first off. Like The Song of Achilles, Circe is very much a slow-moving, character driven novel (even more so than Achilles, actually, which was heavily focused on the war with Troy). There is not too much that happens here given that Circe is exiled to a remote island, and much of what does happen happens off-screen, with Circe being told of it by various other characters. Despite this, I wasn’t bothered by the pacing at all, and at no point did I find the book slow or boring. I spent a lot of time simply digesting and enjoying the writing, the various turns of phrases Miller uses that inspire admiration. She is such a skilled writer and I would honestly read pretty much anything she writes just to engage with how she weaves words together.

So, ultimately, the biggest disappointment – or perhaps a better way to phrase this would be unmatched expectations – was the character of Circe herself. As it turns out not very much is known about Circe from existing literature; she mostly features as a background character in others’ stories. However, the Circe I had envisioned was a completely different woman than the Circe Miller created, who was tame, passive, lovelorn, rather pathetic at times, with little to none of the ruthlessness that I would imagine Circe might have developed. I’m conflicted about how I feel about this – I think that if I hadn’t had such specific expectations I would not have been disappointed with Circe’s character, which is ultimately a study in a kind person remaining kind despite eons of cruelty. I just found myself wanting more from Circe.

I will say that, outside of my own expectations, Circe’s character arc is excellent, truly one of the best character arcs I have ever read. Circe starts out as a young, naive, and insecure nymph who grows into a confident, surefooted, and intelligent woman. She never undergoes a complete personality shift, but she hardens more, recognizes what it is she wants and who exactly she is. It is by discovering herself and honing her abilities as a witch that Circe finds strength. She also struggles with the loneliness of her immortality, and I think Miller did a fantastic job portraying the ennui and despair that can accompany immortality. The conclusion to Circe’s arc is so fitting and so satisfying; it ties together her abilities as a witch, her newfound strength of self, and her dissatisfaction with her divinity so, so beautifully.

"When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist."

I feel like I'm alone in that I actually enjoyed The Song of Achilles more than Circe. Perhaps it's because of how unique of a story it was, and when done right, and in the correct context, I absolutely adore romances. Especially tragic ones.

Anyway, Circe is a bit different. This book is a lot of things. It’s the origin story of the witch Circe (you know her from the Odyssey, where she was casually turning men into pigs for disrespecting her), but it is also a story of growth, motherhood, betrayal, and redemption. While in the Odyssey she is essentially just a plot device, here, she is given an entire story. We follow Circe from her childhood as lesser nymph in Oceanus, longing for love and acceptance. We discover the events that led to her eventual exile on the isle of Aeaea, and how she came into her power as a witch. Circe’s story is woven together with other familiar tales, including the Minotaur, Madea, and Daedalus, and while Odysseus makes an appearance as well, this story is Circe’s, and hers alone.

Circe’s character is the force that drives this book, and it is certainly a force to be reckoned with. While Circe does become a powerful witch that does some terrible, awful things, Miller does an excellent job of humanizing her. She is a relatable, flawed, and complex character who shows us time and time again that even in the face of magic, fate, and crazy Greek gods, you are the only one who can decide who you are and what you can become.

If you enjoy reading about crazy Greek gods, complex heroines, witches, or magic, you won’t want to miss this book.

Gods and monsters, heroes and mortals. I've always loved the stories of the Greeks, from Homer to Edith Hamilton to Mary Renault. Madeline Miller joined the list several years ago with her novel The Song of Achilles, and now casts a spell with Circe (Little Brown, digital galley). You may remember Circe as the sorceress who seduced Odysseus and turned his sailors into pigs, but Miller gives us her own epic story so  she becomes a woman for the ages. The neglected daughter of the god of the sun, Helios, young Circe displays little aptitude at being a nymph among many. But when she turns her rival Scylla into a sea monster, Zeus banishes Circe to an island where she hones her skill as a witch, using herbs to heal and taming wild animals. Prometheus, Medea, Odysseus, and the Minotaur all play a part, but Circe is the glittering but sympathetic star. You go, girl!

Meditative and melodic, CIRCE is such a great exploration of character. If you've ever wondered what happened to Greek gods behind-the-scenes, their motivations and lives, this is the book for you.

I received an advanced copy of this title via NetGalley for an honest review.
I was spellbound. There was not a single moment where I was not intricately entwined in the tale. I’ve heard some of the names, even learned some of the old tales, but this surpassed my expectations. As in her first novel, Miller effortlessly entrances the reader with her ability to make an old tale new again. Circe is not as widely known as some of the others but she will be made even more so with this book.

Circe is a beautifully written book about the journey of a woman finding herself and her place in the middle of a cruel world.  Despite some lagging, I was captivated from the start to the finish. It was not an easy tale to read, despite having minimum bloodshed and war. It lives up to my expectations, even fulfilled more than what I hoped for. If you are looking for an action-packed tale or tale of wickedness, this book is not for you. But if you are looking for a book with amazing character development and reflection, about incredible woman finding her power and her fate, this book is for you.

Loved this strong female voice. I'm not well versed in stories from Greek mythology, and Circe was a character unfamiliar to me, but this made me want to learn more about lesser know Greek deities like her.

circe by madeline miller just came out and i feel rather conflicted about it.

first, it was not what i expected. after years of people hyping the song of achilles to me, i expected something absolutely phenomenal but got something entirely average. perhaps better than average but definitely not close to what i expected. the first section of the book is written in a matter of fact manner that was a tad bit off-putting at the start. i was hoping to get drawn into circe's thought process and to feel her emotions as she dealt with her family. instead, i felt avidly like an outsider looking into a family drama but not understanding why anyone did anything or how anyone was really feeling. it made me feel disconnected from the characters from the start.

as the book progressed, i could understand her emotions more as she became more expressive. but by then, the damage had already been done. i felt disconnected from circe so every awful that happened to her didn't make me feel anything when it definitely should have. she still relayed information in a very matter of fact way, especially her romantic relationships. only the last portion of the book was really enjoyable for me and even then, i still felt like her emotions barely came through about the events. her whole life is being ripped apart but she can't be bothered to express anything. the dialogue came off very stilted and perfect even in volatile situations.

the  whole book was a huge disconnect for me. i never felt attached to circe or any of the other characters. i didn't hate the people she hated because i'm never made to feel her emotions. instead, everything is just told to the reader. show not tell got lost in this book, in my opinion. this whole reading experience makes me hesitant to read the song of achilles after it has been so hyped to me. i worry that i will have a similar experience that i did with circe.

i appreciate netgalley providing this e-arc in return for an honest review. i was so excited when i got approved for this one, i started reading it immediately. but its taken me months to get to this review because i was hoping my feelings would change about the book, it hasn't. if you love greek mythology, i would definitely still suggest reading this for the insight it gives into these myths. but this is not something i would blindly recommend to everyone.

I’m not sure that a novel or a writer as accomplished as this needs help from a lowly blogger to carve its niche into smart, popular fiction. Madeline Miller reimagines the story of Circe from her point-of-view and makes a fascinating adventure of it.

Most of us grow up with the abbreviated version of ancient myths. The stories of the gods and goddesses, and the mortals who crossed them, can often be distilled into a sentence or two. Prometheus stole fire from Mount Olympus and was punished for eternity. Icarus was too arrogant about his waxwings and it was his undoing. Some of us encountered longer tales of war and wisdom in epics like Iliad and Odyssey. Miller’s novel Circe is more like these epics in scope but is vastly different in its tone, and its narrator.

Circe is the daughter of Helios, the Titan god of the sun, and Perse, a nymph. In the Homeric stories, she is a witch, punished for her jealous behavior by being banished to a deserted island. In her years there, she used her wiles to coax big cats to be her pets. She grew useful, magical herbs, and she provided a haven for sailors, including Odysseus.


Circe Invidiosa, John William Waterhouse, 1892.
In this novel, Circe is a much deeper, and more complicated character. The reader meets her as a child and sees her grow up in the halls of Zeus. She nurses the wounds of Prometheus and watches the gods enjoy their nightly feasts. Not really belonging in either world, she contents herself by being a watchful shadow.

Far beyond his shoulder, my father’s chariot was slipping into the sea. In their dusty palace rooms, astronomers were even now tracking its sunset glory, hoping their calculations would hold. Their bony knees trembled, thinking of the headman’s axe. ~Pg. 1398

When Circe finally gains the attention of Glaucus, and fellow nymph Scylla steals him away, she retaliated by turning her into a six-headed monster doomed to attack wayward sailors. For this, Circe is exiled to the island of Aiaia. It is here that she truly comes into her own.

Readers that were scared off by the length or style of the ancient Greek texts should know this book is incredibly accessible. Told in Circe’s voice, the tone is straightforward, yet loses none of the mystical aspects of a mythological story. At the halfway point, her tone turns from youthful and joyful to dark and vengeful. I was at first thrown off-balance. I then realized Miller had done so deliberately because of a crucial turning in Circe’s story. Miller has written more than a novel; she has drawn a psychological sketch of a previously minor character in the mythological panoply.

**Note: Any comments made about gods/goddesses are referring to the characters in this novel and do not pertain to the deities of those who practice Hellenistic Polytheism**

Circe follows the half-god, half-nymph creature/woman from ancient Greek mythology from her youth and through her centuries of life. I'm honestly not sure what to say besides that because this novel is very character-driven. It's really just us following Circe as different events from ancient Greek myth are revisited from a new perspective.

There's not really a cohesive plot, and that's what made me give it a 3 stars. I much prefer plot-based stories, and literary fiction is often a struggle for me. This was no exception, despite how badly I wanted it to be. I read to about 40% and then skipped around and skimmed the rest of the book. I didn't want to DNF because I wanted to see the ending, and it was actually satisfying in the end. 

That being said, if you love literary fiction or character-driven novels, this is PERFECT for you! The writing in here is so lyrically beautiful and honestly, is what kept me reading most of the time. Madeline Miller brings these characters to life with such poise and grace, her writing is just stunning. She creates a world just beyond our own that feel so real, I'll be half looking over my shoulder for minotaurs from now on! Circe as a character grows so much throughout the book and I loved watching her progression. Her immortality allows her to come in contact with so many different kinds of people and they each help shape her in their own way. Her journey is an entertaining, heartfelt and bittersweet one.

Okay, that's about all I've got to say here. If you're into this genre, it WILL NOT disappoint! If you are like me and need a plot to stay engaged, I may suggest borrowing this from the library or a friend instead of spending your own hard earned coin.

Last year I read Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles and loved it. So I was pretty sure going into this one that I was going to love it too. And you know what? Madeline Miller didn't let me down because this book was absolutely golden!

I've always love Greek mythology and any book that involves the Greek gods is sure to a favorite of mine. That said, few authors can do Greek mythology the way Miller does. Not only does she retell a story, but she builds it from the ground up before your eyes.

The world she weaves before us seems both old and new. It's an ancient background with characters that are millennia old, and it was so vivid and real and new and just plain good! Miller has a way of taking these larger than life characters that we've all grown up hearing about and somehow makes them human. It was what she did with Achilles in The Song of Achilles and it's what she does here again.

I've always have said that I prefer character-driven stories, and this is the epitome of that.

The character of Circe has always been an interesting one. Her story, her background, her motives for the things she does in The Odessey, everything. Here we get to have all of that explained in a way that is engaging and intriguing. Even though we all know the general parts of her story I was dying to find out more.

As a character in this novel, Circe is extremely complex and amazingly well developed. Same goes for all the other characters in the story. From the gods to the mortals, to all the other beings in between. The relationships here were also beautifully done. Not just the romantic ones, which were far less prominent here than in The Song of Achilles, but the family relationships as well.

Truly, everything was amazing. There is a simplicity to the way that Miller writes them that perfectly highlights the complexity of the individuals involved.

Overall, this was the book that I needed to break me out of this reading slump I was getting myself into. More so, it was the book the world needed in order to finally see this wonderful character and her journey from the eyes of a woman. All through history man has told Circe's story. She was the witch who turned men into pigs and was yet another obstacle in Odysseus' journey and nothing more. Finally, we get to see the woman behind the myth and all the things that had gotten her to that point.

I cannot wait to see what other characters of mythology Miller decides to focus on next. Hopefully, it doesn't take her seven years though!

**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**

In her follow-up to her 2011 novel The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller continues to play in the world of Greek mythology, this time with the goddess Circe, best known as the witch who turns men into pigs in Homer’s Odyssey. Circe, the daughter of Helios, a Titan, and a water nymph, never feels at home in her father’s halls. She is mocked for her strange voice and lack of beauty and power by her family, and finds herself drawn to mortals rather than engage with the vain and petty gods in her midst. Circe unlocks her true power when transforms the mortal boy she loves into a god. When her latent powers are made known, she is exiled to the island Aiaia. In her exile, she begins to practice pharmakeia, witchcraft using herbs and other elements to create powerful spells. As she masters her powers, she also begins to find strength in herself.

Circe briefly leaves Aiaia when she is summoned to Crete by her sister to aid in the birth of the monstrous Minotaur. While at Knossos, she meets her niece, Ariadne, and the inventor Daedalus. After returning to exile, Circe is more keenly aware of her loneliness and throws herself into working her magic. Circe does have the odd visitor. Her sometime lover Hermes comes to tell tales of the outside world, and Circe’s other niece, Medea, seeks her out after fleeing her kingdom with Jason. Ships of mortal men find their way to her island as well. A brutal betrayal causes an enraged Circe to transform her transgressors into pigs. Enter Odysseus and his crew. If you know your mythology, you already know how everything plays out. However, in Miller’s hands, the story feels fresh and remains utterly compelling.

Circe is a complex and sympathetic heroine. Her struggles to find her voice and wield her power are both ancient and completely of the moment. Circe may be about a goddess, but it has a lot to say about being a woman (and about men’s fear of women with power). Miller’s vivid, evocative writing brings the Greek gods and monsters to life in a unique and fantastic way. An epic read, indeed. Readers who enjoy stories about women’s lives, literary fiction, and fantasy fiction will all find something worthwhile here.