Circe
Books | Fiction / Historical / Ancient
4.2
(55.1K)
Madeline Miller
This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew 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 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.
Historical Fiction
Fantasy
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More Details:
Author
Madeline Miller
Pages
400
Publisher
Little, Brown
Published Date
2018-04-10
ISBN
0316556335 9780316556330
Ratings
Google: 4.5
Community ReviewsSee all
"I think that this book is interesting because I never knew how big Circes part was in Greek mythology. Most of the very important stories, she played a huge part in. This book is based on Circes life from beginning to end. She has a part to play in a lot of the major stories, Jason/Medea, Odysseus, the Minotaur/Daedalus, Scylla. Though most of the book she is trapped on her island, the amount of hero’s, gods, and other creatures she meets keeps the story going. Although due to her having such an expansive life, I do find myself having to slow down and remember each character because there are so many that make an appearance. Most of her siblings go on to become kings and queens as well with kids who do miraculous things, so trying to keep them all straight was alot. I felt like having a huge background in mythological studies, it made it easier to follow for me but beyond that I probably would’ve been lost. This book however did give me a better appreciation for Circe. Although she was taunted by all of her family, I feel like she was the one that made the most change and had the most growth out of her family. Every one looked down on her, yet at the end of the day, she was the one running things. Yes, if you look into Circe a lot of these things can be found, I think the way that it was written was very lyrical and theatrical. I found myself getting more intrigued as her life unfolded. Often times I did feel bad for Circe but I think she handled adversity well.
This book wasn’t high fantasy or big on character building or world building because every character and place existed in Greek mythology already, however if you are interested in Greek mythology or learning about figures that aren’t given enough credit for all they contribute, this book is a good choice for you. I actually ended up liking this story more than a comparable counterpart, Ariadne. "
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