Circe
Book Review
Circe is a well-woven story by Madeline Miller about a misfit goddess. Miller takes a minor character from Greek mythology and crafts an entire story around her life. It is a book that is widely beloved and I remember seeing its cover on bestseller/popular book lists for a long time. I read Miller’s previous book, The Song of Achilles, a few years ago, and I find that her knack for poetic writing and interesting storytelling can also be found in Circe. But looking back on this as a story, there were a lot of moments that felt a bit dull to me, and I think that has to do with the fact that Circe is literally a prisoner on an island for most of her life. Interesting things happen to her by way of chance (or fate?), but it’s really more a of a story of internal growth and discovery rather than adventure.
To be honest, when I first started reading this book, I had no idea who Circe was and was not that interested in learning about her backstory and upbringing. Circe was a name that did not ring any bells for me at all when thinking back on Greek mythology. I admit it's pretty shallow of me, but my interest was only piqued when famous Greek stories and names of heroes I recognized started weaving into her story. When I realized that Circe was a part of the Odysseus arc, I really got into the book. We got to see Odysseus, the man, from new perspectives, and not necessarily good ones. I felt myself starting to root for her happiness and feel her sorrows, especially when it came to how human sailors wanted to do terrible things to her because they misjudged her as weak or submissive. It's rare to find a strong female lead in mythology, but Circe is definitely one of them.
In conclusion…
It’s hard for me to say that I didn’t like this book that much, but there were a lot of moments that felt like long descriptions that did not necessarily move the story forward. I think the quality of writing is really high and the audiobook reader was top notch, but I wouldn't consider this book as one of my favorites.