Book Review: Circe | Madeline Miller

This is Book #8 overall that I read this year. It was published in 2018 so it doesn't count toward my 20 or 2020 Challenge.

I'm not very familiar with Greek mythology or the Odyssey. I've read excerpts for school, watched some Odyssey TV/movie adaptations, and read the Percy Jackson series. That's where my knowledge about this subject comes from and about where it ends.

One of the most enjoyable things for me while reading this book was hearing all of the different stories. I've heard most of them before but I still loved being reminded of them again. With my brief bits of mythology knowledge, I was able to follow along with the story for the most part. Keeping track of all the god names and stories may be a little difficult to follow for people with absolutely no knowledge of the mythology, but I think that if you have even a minor amount of knowledge, it should be understandable for the most part. Y With even a little bit of knowledge of the Odyssey, you should be able to follow along and enjoy Circe as its own work.

This was another book I read as part of a book club. It sounded interesting to me, but I was definitely hesitant to pick it up because I wasn't as familiar with the original material as I thought I should be. One thing that is a little difficult for me to wrap my head around is understanding what is a retelling and what is the original story/myth. Without being super familiar with Greek mythology, its hard to tell what is new and of Miller's creation. Without having that knowledge, it's difficult for me to see what exactly Miller is trying to say or how she is reinterpreting or retelling the myth to fit her own narrative. It's not a complaint, it's just a note that I know that there is so much more to explore with this book. I know I would gain so much more depth and meaning from the book if I had a better grasp of the original story. I already really liked the book on its own, I just know it would be a lot more rewarding if I had that background knowledge. It's definitely something for me to look into.

I was really interested and engaged the entire time. I really related to and felt for Circe's character. It was hard to see all the things she went through and the ways people treated her. I enjoyed seeing the way her character developed. The visual descriptions were really powerful and I could really visualize what it looked like in my mind. My favorite parts were the discussions of gods versus mortals and immortality versus mortality. I felt like it was a unique perspective that really struck a cord with me. I thought these passages were so profound and beautiful and it's been awhile since a book has affected me that way. There were moments that made me want to cry. I really loved this book and would definitely recommend it to others.

I will give this a 3.5/5 (rounded up to a 4/5 on GoodReads). Have you read this book? I'd love to hear your thoughts down below.