Circe

My second book of the year (I'm aiming to read 104 this year so they probably won't all get blog posts) was Circe, by Madeline Miller. Let me preface this by saying I had heard a lot of great things, and I also love mythology, so I was primed to love this book. From the back of the book:

"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."

I really love retellings of Myths in unique ways, and this is probably my favorite retelling I've read. Circe in most other tales is a minor character, we mostly know her from the Odyssey, as one of the 'monsters' that Odysseus outwits. I personally liked Circe in the Odyssey, I thought it was fitting that she turned men into pigs. But this story I loved because it gives her perspective. From birth until the end of her story. We often don't see female characters in Greek Myths in a good light; there is some evidence that female centric myths were destroyed or lost to time. Circe in fact has 3 ancient plays about her which are lost. So to have a story which centers on a female character, who often is just the witch archetype, gives her depth and agency which I loved.

Starting at her birth and her childhood as a daughter of Helios, we see her grow and we see why she becomes who she does when we find her in the known myths. She has side action, interacting with other famous heroes and mythic characters and creatures. We see her complex motives and the way she forms her identity. We see how she is too often a pawn for the men around her and that when she is hurt, she increases her power and finds a way to protect herself, as well as those she loves.


I think that anybody who likes Greek Mythology, or Mythology from other pantheons, would like this book. It is beautifully written and very engaging. I finished it in just 3 days because I could hardly put it down. Circe is also very relatable. She isn't a goddess, she's a witch, an alchemist, a poisoner. She doesn't just wave her hands and the world changes as she wills it to, she spends time gathering and preparing herbs, working hard at her craft. She feels guilty for things she did that had hurt those she didn't intend to hurt. She tries to only turn dangerous or hurtful men into pigs, the rest she lets go free. She is truly a very human goddess, which makes her story all the more compelling.