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Monday 22 July 2019

CIRCE by Madeline Miller

Circe My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I just finished reading this stunning book and absolutely loved it. It took me a few weeks to read because we've been really busy doing real-life stuff, and that means that I went days without picking it up. 😞

But, none of that matters because taking my time with this mythological blend of dark fantasy, adventure and horrific monsters was great.

I love Greek mythology, and have always been fascinated by Circe, so of course I enjoyed the hell out of this book.

Helios might be the sun god and a Titan, but he's also a mean bastard who doesn't care about his daughter. Circe's not pretty enough and her voice grates on his nerves, so he rejects her. But he's not the only one, even her mother and siblings ridicule and ignore her.

Circe leads an isolated, unloved existence, so she turns her attention to witchcraft and her fascination with mortals. When one of her spells angers Zeus, she's exiled to the island of Aiaia.

Her exile serves as a personal adventure that helps her power grow, leads to exciting discoveries, heartbreak and some horrific situations...

Wow. This book is full of so many familiar players in Greek mythology. All seen from the POV of Circe. It was so cool to see Hermes pass himself off as a friend while seducing and spreading gossip. Daedalus was such an interesting and great man. Odysseus was an interesting, yet vain man. Athena was as wrathful as expected.

There were a lot of very cool characters and monsters, but the ones that surprised me the most were Penelope and Telemachus. I didn't expect Odysseus' family to serve such a vital part in Circe's story.

Yeah, let's talk about how awesome the characterisation of Circe is. I mean, she might be a goddess and a powerful witch, but she's also a woman easily lost in her loneliness. She never fit in with her family, everyone who ventured into her life ended up taking advantage of her (or left her) and no matter how hard she tried to make people happy, it always backfired.

Even when she offers hospitality to the needy, they manage to betray her in the worst possible way. It was truly sad, but great to see how she uses experience to hone her skills. No matter what happens, Circe still managed to open her heart and home because it was in her nature.

I love stories about girls/women who have often been described as evil or cunning, but are really kind and powerful, posing such a threat that they're turned into false villains. And Circe seems to be one of many in Greek mythology.

The shitty behaviour of the Gods and Titans was something else I enjoyed. Not to mention how cool it was how other nations and gods are mentioned and co-exist alongside the Greeks. Very clever.

I'm so glad I finally read this because it was just as wonderful and dark as I hoped it would be. The writing is beautiful, the story fantastic, the cover gorgeous the main character is amazing, and THAT ending... Loved this!



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