Circe by Madeline Miller
Published by Little, Brown and Company on April 10, 2018
my rating: ★★★.5
Goodreads avg: 4.32 (as of 2019-04-03)
Spoiler-free Review
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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.
Circe had already been on my TBR since I really liked The Song of Achilles, but I had seen lukewarm praise by friends and decided not to prioritize it. Its place on the Women’s Prize longlist is what skyrocketed it to the top of my list. I can see to some extent why it’s so well-loved: Madeline Miller manages to create a feminist retelling of Circe’s place in history. Miller’s prose is lovely, as expected, and it’s quite an easy read.
I had no right to claim him, I knew it. But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips towards yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me.
Unfortunately, I just found there to be something missing. With The Song of Achilles, Miller really managed to tug at the heartstrings in a way that I didn’t experience again in Circe. Part of this may have been due to the length of the story, which takes place over thousands of years and which necessitates large gaps in time. It’s difficult for me to pinpoint anything else, though. There’s nothing I can point to as causing my neutrality, I just… wasn’t quite as invested in the story as I would’ve liked.
I did not care. I thought: give me the blade. Some things are worth spilling blood for.
Overall, though, Circe is a worthwhile read. Miller is a great writer and I don’t regret picking this up. It seems by and large to satisfy audiences, so I’m definitely in the minority with my rating.
More Women’s Prize 2019 Longlist reviews:
The Pisces
Ghost Wall
Ordinary People
Circe
Lost Children Archive
Praise Song for the Butterflies
An American Marriage
My Sister, the Serial Killer
Normal People
Freshwater
The Silence of the Girls
Sarah Ames-Foley 
Great review! This is one of those books that sound like they should be absolutely for me but that I am for some reason not super excited about. I am glad that the longlisting gives me a reason to just take the plunge and read it. I am going in with neutral expectations which hopefully will work to its advantage.
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I hope you end up liking it at least somewhat! I think going in with neutral expectations is definitely the best course of action. 🙂
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I read the first few pages and it might be the contrast to Swan Song but it i so beautifully written that I might just end up loving it.
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It is really beautifully written! I thought that without a terrible book to compare it to. 😉
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A fair review for a thought-provoking novel. Miller breathes a new perspective into an old myth, making it feel fresh.
I do agree with you, I enjoyed Song of Achilles more. Still worth reading.
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I still rated Circe 5 stars because I love Madeline Miller so much and loved her feminist retelling of Circe, but there was definitely something that kept me disconnected from the story in a way that surprised me. I feel so strongly about the Song of Achilles but Circe is something that just didn’t emotionally impact me in the same way? I appreciate it a lot though!
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That’s totally understandable! 🙂 I can easily see why people would appreciate it so much. I definitely don’t think it was bad, I just wish it had captivated me more like TSOA had.
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Great review! This one was also bit disappointing to me, for reasons hard to pinpoint. The story and prose is beautiful, but I just wasn’t HOOKED. I haven’t read Song of Achilles yet though, and am still looking forward to that!
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It’s interesting how many people I’ve seen say that! It’s certainly well-written, but there is just something missing. I hope you end up liking The Song of Achilles more! I thought it was fantastic.
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Aw, sorry you didn’t love this one! It’s funny because I feel like a lot of people love TSOA way more than Circe, or the other way around, and it’s so hard to predict which it will be for someone. I adored Circe but DNFed TSOA (with intentions of picking it back up… eventually…). 😂
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Omg, that’s too funny! At the very least, I did like this one so it’s not a total loss. 🙂
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