Circe by Madeline Miller Book Review

Book Title: Circe

Author: Madeline Miller

My Rating: 4.5*

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Publication Date: 10/04/18

Genre(s): Mythology, Fantasy

Pages: 333

Format Read: Paperback

Goodreads: 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.

I never usually read books on this genre or Greek mythology but I had heard many great things about it and it was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019 so I decided to give it a go. I read Circe while I was on holiday in Kefalonia, a Greek island, sat by the pool overlooking the sea hoping this setting would give the book an extra edge (picture of the beautiful view at the top!).

The plot tells the story of the goddess Circe and her life; from growing up in her father Helios’ castle, being hated and mocked by all of her family for having a voice like a mortal and for not being beautiful like all immortals should be, to being exiled to live on an island alone and how she made a life for herself. It is a story of a woman’s strengths and female empowerment in a world that constantly knocks her down and how she overcame each battle to make a good life for her and her son. The story as a whole was really fascinating to read and even though it took me quite a while to get into it, once I had finished it I loved it and its one of my favourite books I’ve read so far this year!

I had never heard of the Goddess Circe and so I went into this book completely blind, not knowing anything about who she was but as soon as I started reading I really liked the character of Circe and how she was portrayed. Even though she was constantly mocked by everyone, she carried on and it only made her stronger and the reader got to see how powerful she really was once she had been exiled to the island of Aiaia and was able to do anything she wanted without prying eyes and hateful family. The book deals with many issues a woman faces in a world ruled by Gods which only made me love Circe more for carrying on and her character will stay with me for a long time.

One problem I did have with the story is that there are a lot of characters that drop in and out of this book and if you’re not very familiar with the lesser known names in Greek mythology then it can get a bit overwhelming as I forgot who some people were and had to backtrack to figure out their role in the book. However every character in the book is significant in their own little way so once you figure out who they are it makes the story a lot better.

A big part of the plot was the Gods vs mortals story line. Circe didn’t come into her powers for a long time and always thought she was more like a mortal than a Goddess and so she preferred to be around mortals more and blurred the lines with the relationships she had with mortals. The most significant relationship we read about is with Odysseus who gave her a son, Telegonus, although he didn’t know about it as he leaves her before she gave birth. I loved reading about her relationship with Telegonus as you can see her new struggles with motherhood but her protectiveness for her child as he grows older.

The only reason I gave Circe 4.5* instead of 5* is because of how I struggled to get into it at first but overall this book is definitely worth the read and I now want to read more books involving Greek mythology. If you have any recommendations please let me know in the comments!