“A bold and subversive retelling of the goddess’s story,” this #1 New York Times bestseller is “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, The New 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 … 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.
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Exceptional book from the author of Achilles Song. As a long time classics fan, especially of the Iliad and Odyssey, I held back on getting into this. I’d read them all before, from reading the Illustrated Classics version when I was a kid to reading multiple translations as an adult. What more could there be? Plenty. Just a beautiful exploration of the world from the demigoddess Circe’s point of view, made her fully fleshed and believeable yet rich and classical. Gods are so perfectly wrought, eternal, omnipotent and twisted, while mortals, even the heroes like Jason and Odysseus, come alive like never before. My favourite book of 2018.
I enjoyed going back to the days of the Greek gods, their capricious humors and human frailties. Circe is a young girl and then a young woman and then a middle-aged woman living in a male-dominated world in which she has little power over her life. As a goddess herself, and a hard-working witch, she does have power over people with less power than herself, and that’s the potent recipe of fantasy—how we gain power and how we use power. Circe is someone you want to spend time with.
The language, the pacing, the characterization, the pure wonder of it!
I’ve been reading a lot of witchy books lately, partly because I enjoy them, but also because I’m writing a witch based urban fantasy and wanted to research my genre. This book piqued my interest because it’s been so widely praised, and it’s all about one of the most famous witches in myth – Circe.
I loved this book! It’s certainly not urban fantasy, so you won’t get racing magical fights and energy blasts, but it is addictive, beautiful written and spellbinding.
I have serious writer envy.
Published April 10, 2018, by Lee Boudreaux Books Circe by Madeline Miller is a stand-alone novel about one of literatures more powerful women, Circe.
Simply an amazing novel. For anyone who loves Greek mythology, this is the novel for you. Circe is all about the witch from Homer’s Odyssey, who turned men into pigs for invading her island and her peace. However, there’s more to it than that. Circe gives readers a history of the characters as well as a place in the Greek pantheon. There is magic and wonder on every page and a tone that makes the narrative incredibly relatable.
Often an overlooked character who has been made famous by a series of scenes in a novel, this novel gives this incredibly powerful character a history that gives her a place in modern literature, a place in history past this, a woman who was “tamed” by a lost sailor. As such a compelling character, her representation never seemed to do her justice, casting her like a lovesick woman, a lonely woman, or even as a villain. None of these representations ever gave this character the proper representation, and now there is finally a novel that takes all those representations and gives them some context, adding in complexities and depth.
There’s so much going into this novel, bringing in famous characters from mythology to show the importance of Circe’s role in mythology. The first daughter of Helios, a titan of the Sun, not to be confused with the God of the Sun, Circe was often overlooked as ordinary with a voice was more mortal than it was godly. Her voice and perception ultimately made her the back sheep of the family, often teased and often overlooked by her family. Moreover, from her perspective, this did not bother her much. There’s so much depth to the characterization of the story and the dynamics. They turn Circe into an incredibly relatable character, a compelling character whose own hubris and naïve understanding of the gods mark her falling. Hubris is shown often in Greek mythology, the hero always falls to their hubris, but in Circe’s case, it is more complicated than that. She does not understand quite what it means to be arrogant, powerful, dangerous, or naïve. Again, she was an overlooked character in much of mythology, as well as by her family in this novel, so it takes her time to find herself. However, this does not make her villain; it makes her human, mortal, complicated. Moreover, that is part of the reason why this novel is compelling. Circe is such a compelling character not just because of the power she has within herself which everyone underestimated, but because of her personality.
Circe has not exactly had a comfortable life, it has been hard and emotionally abusive, but she came through all those hardships and used them to influence her, to make her better than everyone around her. This lends itself to incredible character development; it allows her perception to see beyond the pain, to see the hope and beyond. This is something many stories before hands have neglected to show. Circe is powerful, but it does not define her. She does not let anything define her. As a feminist read, this is a great one, because it gives rise to her perspective in a man’s world, this story gives her influence in history and Greek mythology while also delivering a multidimensional character.
Circe is amazing. The character development and her journey is so incredibly compelling. It is a story full of magic and wonder that will inevitably draw in every reader.
The author takes a minor character in the classic tale by Home, THE ODYSSEY, and writes a whole novel from that character’s point of view. Circe is a minor goddess, a nymph, who learns witchcraft and has the skill to transform things and people into something else. For this, she is banished to an island forever. From this position, she welcomes human heroes returning from the Trojan War and bears a child from Odysseus. The tale is magnificent and also humorous. Couldn’t put it down.
I loved SONG OF ACHILLES, but in some ways I like CIRCE better – it comes so obliquely at us, from the POV of such an unlikely protagonist; to make us believe in the world of the gods as well as that of mortal beings is a remarkable achievement. I think she writes beautifully.
I’ll read anything Madeline Miller writes. She gave Circe a full and fascinating tale of her own. If you love Greek mythology, this is perfect for you! I recommend the audio, too. Perdita Weeks becomes Circe. So good.
I love Greek mythology, and this was a very compelling retelling of the tales of Circe.
Circe is a fun witchy read. I love all things Greek mythology. This was an entertaining retelling.
Totally absorbing, emotional and thought provoking. The portrayal of mythological characters feels authentic and believable, and the story is told with verve and wit. Absolutely marvellous.
This is a great rendition on Circe’s story and enjoyed reading Circe’s side of this famous story. I give it 4/5 stars because at times, it’s slow-paced.
Confession: Circe was a cover-buy, because look at it. It’s stunning. I LOVE mythology, especially Greek mythology, so it’s shameful that it took me this long to finally read it!
This was such a relaxed read for me. It was perfect after work, when I just wanted to calm down a little and just enjoy a good book! That also made it a little one-note for me though–it was calming and so beautiful, but I missed a bit of humour, a bit of excitement, a bit of action.
Having said that, I did enjoy it, and I’m glad I finally read it. It was my first book by Miller, but I’ll add Song of Achilles to my list!
After owning The Song of Achilles for ages and loving it I finally decided to purchase Circe and read it, ow boy what a read! I absolutely adore it and will so be reading it again.
Greek mythology lovers should definitely give this a read
A little bit of everything. Some moments had me biting my nails, others had me chuckling at the characters. Enjoyable read for those who love the myths. I was left satisfied.
The story is engaging, and the mythology comes to life in a way I have never experienced. Madeline Miller’s writing is engaging and poetic and so inspiring. I loved this book and think every girl on the planet should read it.
I love this book. It’s so unique and so is the author’s voice compared to what I typically read. I felt like I was there on the island with Circe and experiencing her trials right along with her. That being said, there were a handful of things I wasn’t crazy about (spoiler: her hooking up with her son’s half brother, gross), but overall a very good read
I adored every inch of this book. The writing is astonishing, and Miller does an incredible job bringing this old myth to life. – Tricia D. Wagner
I own the audiobook version and I’ve listened to it twice now. It’s beautifully written.
nice