Circe, written by Madeline Miller, is a book that kept me hooked from beginning to end! I know me explaining the plot and everything else makes it seem as a very boring book, but I promise you, it has such a great story, great characters (which can easily be hated) and writting that makes me feel the emotion in every page. Miller did such a great job with this book, she explained everything so well and truly showed the real Circe, one that isn't a threat, but in fact a lonely soul that was never loved and understood until the very end.
Madeline Miller is an American novelist whose passion and love has always been writting (and Greek mythology!). She cares so much about her work in every way. for example, she took 10 years to write one of her earliest books, The Song of Achilles (which I will start reading soon), while at the same time teaching Latin, Greek and Shakespeare to High schoolers. She was raised in New York city, and attended Brown and Yale University to get her degrees. Her books got the recognition they deserve, The Song of Achilles getting the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction and Circe getting the Indies Choice Best Adult Fiction of the Year Award.
Circe, nymph or a goddess? No, a witch! an Independent witch. One who defends those who are treated and used wrong, one that does not need a man, and one who learns her value and slowly starts to gain power as well as love ones. I would give the book Circe a 5 out of 5 stars because of it's great writting, it's great story, it's great characters, and a beautiful ending that concludes the live of Circe.
Circe starts with learning about Circe's family and life. Her struggles as a young "nymph" and relationships. We learn about how she only has her brother to love her, but then he leaves as soon as he becomes a man. Then, Glaucus came into the story, only to use Circe and become mortal. After losing the two men she loved, she threw that anger onto Scylla turning her into a monster. Circe keeps this secret for a while, until she finally admits it to her father Helios and her family about what she has done. No one believed her because she was thought to be useless with no powers, but her brother defends her making every god scared. Circe (as a punishment) is sent to the island Aiaia to live on her own and stop being a "threat" to the rest of the gods. There she meets many sailors which some try to use her and others become good people, but she always makes sure they know that she is the one ruling the island. She meets Hermes (which becomes her lover) and Odysseus (who gets her pregnant once he leaves the island). She struggles with her kid at first, specially with raising him and making sure he is safe. She learns many things thanks to this child, for example, she learns how to finally love someone and truly care about them.
Once her child (Telegonus) becomes a man, he decides to finally go and meet his father Odysseus, and even though Circe does not want to let her son go, she understands that he is a man of his own. Telegous returns afraid after hearing his father is dead and does not know what to do anymore. Odysseus's first child Telemachus, and his wife Penelope arrive at Aiaia telling Circe that they have no where to go. Circe accepts them into her house and teaches them how to survive. Telegous finally decides that he wants to travel, and Circe accepts that, and in fact, decides that she is ready to leave this island too. She calls her father for a last time and tells him that no matter what he or anyone says, she will leave the island and help the mortals with Telemachus. After years of her inside the island, she is finally free and ready to live with those she truly connected with ever since the beginning.
Circe's conflict is person vs. society because the story focuses on how Circe is treated wrong by other either because she is powerful/not powerful or a woman and I really like that because everyone turning their backs on Circe was able to make her stronger and smarter than ever!
I believe the author did a pretty good job explaining the characters, what they do, and their roles in Circe's life. The author was also able to make me imagine everything written on the book every time I read it (which is my favorite thing to do when I am reading. Imagining everything like if it's a movie, or if I am in that world. Does anyone else do that?) which shows how good her writting was. Lastly, something that I wish could've been more described was the islands, for example, Helios's home could've been explained more, the only thing I remember is the shore and the black halls of the house. I wish I could have learned about the different animals and things around the island, but we were only shown a little bit of it.
I LOVED the way the book is written, it was so easy to understand and everything was detailed very well. Also, I really loved the emotions through the book, it was a whole rollercoaster of story, but every time it made me fell more and more proud of Circe. Lastly, chapters were ended in really good times, every time I ended a chapter, it left me with wanting more and more, I couldn't stop reading at all, and when I was finished, the story ended so well yet I still wanted to know about Circe's death (or if she ever dies) and I wanted to know more about her new life, but the book would've continued for too long.
I give this book 5 out of 5 stars because of it's great narrative and how much it kept me hooked. It was written so well that made every sentence flow, but also easy for anyone to understand. I could feel every twist and turn in this book, and I connected so much with Circe to the point of thinking of her as someone close to me, like family (even though she was probably not real). I loved everything that happened in the story, from beginning to end. this is something everyone should read and I will always recommend because I enjoyed it so much myself and learned so much not only about Greek mythology, but also to never depend on anyone!
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