Tag: Greek

Book Review: Circe by Madeline Miller

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By Caylah Coffeen

Rating: 4/5 stars

Circe is a decadently beautiful mythological retelling for fans of ancient Greek mythology and high literature alike, but its ending misses the emotional mark.

Snapshot

Circe makes an appearance in Homer’s The Odyssey as an antagonist who famously turns Odysseus’ men into pigs. Miller retells this story from her perspective, illuminating how her deeds intertwined with other mythic heroes and how the Fates spun the other threads of her life: her youth as a nymph daughter of Helios, her exile and discovery of sorcery, and her battle to save her oft-forgotten son and demigod Telegonus.

Characters: 4/5

Circe has clinical depression – an interesting take on an immortal. She is lonely, withdrawn, and finds it difficult to love or pursue anything in life. Yet she is staunchly principled, with a huge heart, a sharp mind, and a fiercely protective nature. 

She unfortunately models an “I’m not like other girls” attitude, showing nothing but contempt and standoffishness to all the other women in her life. She can’t be the only nymph or goddess in existence with a brain, yet she does nothing but mock the others for their vapid silliness, ignoring relatives and possible companions because she thinks herself better than every one of them. However, this doesn’t cross the line, partially because it’s accurate according to Greek myths – all the gods were capricious and petty. It’s also in line with how people with depression act, and comes across more as Circe drowning in misery and feeling bitterly out-of-place rather than pompous arrogance. 

Much of the book takes place with Circe in isolation, whether willingly or during her exile, and other characters pass in and out of her long life rather than taking the stage alongside her. I found her dynamic with her siblings and Hermes and Athena more compelling that her relationship with Odysseus and her son, despite their greater importance to the plot. 

Story: 3/5

This is a character focused story, not a plot driven-one. Miller has clearly done great research to make the world of the ancient Greeks come alive! She weaves so many myths through this one tale, from a perspective we’ve never seen! I had totally forgotten that Medea is Circe’s niece!

At times the book felt a bit slow, with Circe trapped alone on an island brewing plants for magic and feeling miserable. However, overall, Miller weaves together Circe’s 1000s of years of life masterfully, granting us a realistic female perspective in a mythos otherwise dominated by male narration.

I didn’t give this 5 stars for 2 reasons. One, the slowness and sometimes repetitive nature of the middle of the book. Two, the ending felt terribly frustrating, and in direct contradiction to the original myth and Greek philosophy. Looking back, Miller did plant the seeds of this ending, and it does tie in with Circe’s arc as Miller portrays it. But the ending is a very American take, not fitting with Greek ideas of life and death. Unlike her other changes to the myth which still fit with the world, the ending felt out of place, and did not seem to tie together Circe’s story or give readers emotional closure.  

Writing: 5/5

Miller’s writing drips off the page like ambrosia. I recall making many faces of pleasure while reading her delicious descriptions. 😀 I kept thinking of the phrase “decadently lyrical” to describe her style. I read this before her debut, The Song of Achilles, and have discovered that her writing has only improved since then. Phrases that felt a bit purple in The Song of Achilles have been refined here and feel completely fitting in the mouth of an immortal. 

Impact: 5/5

It’s been a long time since my heart leapt so much when reading a book. I fell in love with language and story all over again. The more you read, the harder it is to find something that moves you, and this book truly did. I became inspired to reshape my own writing as well. 

Audiobook Narration: 5/5

I listened to the audiobook version of this, and the narrator, Perdita Weeks, makes Miller’s words, already spun from gold, positively glow. What a delight to listen to, especially knowing this is how the Greeks would have enjoyed their stories – orally! 

Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.

I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!

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