Circe

So this was Madeline Miller's (classics prof, Shakespeare and theatre nerd, this woman stole my identity) second novel, after The Song of Achilles, which is one of my forever faves. Circe has a gorgeous cover (the UK one at least? it's so PRETTY) and features more Greek mythology from a ~new perspective:

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.

When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.

There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

At least a couple of us have read it (and/or TSOA) and I like to rant, so. Here we are.

Random starter questions for inspo:
— What did you like about it? What did you dislike?
— If you have also read TSOA, how did you find it compared?
— What did you think of Circe's characterisation? Were there any other of the mythical characters you particularly liked/hated/were interested in reading about over others?
— What did you make of the "plot"? (I say, because... I didn't think it had much of one...)

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This is a discussion thread for people who have read or are reading the book in question. With that in mind, there are likely to be spoilers throughout. However, in the event of major twists or “how it ends”, please wrap content in spoiler tags.

Code:

[spoiler]Surprise!content here[/spoiler]

  

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look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

I will yell more of my own thoughts when it is not nearly 2am, but, on the writing itself, like Jackie I did mourn the lack of powerful description and quotable lines. TSOA was full of them and had a very simple lyricism that I thought worked really well, and I felt like she was trying to recreate that here but almost took it too far - to the point at which I found the imagery/wording/unnecessary similes & metaphors in every sentence more distracting than anything, in a way that detracted from the reading experience.

...I don't get this feeling a lot. Y'all have read my posts, you probably already know I'm usually a complete sucker for unnecessary metaphors xD

  

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look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

*cracks fingers* Okay, here I go.

Show

I actually downgraded my rating from a 5 to 4 stars on Goodreads yesterday because I think at the time I was still sort of trying to convince myself it was as good as TSOA when I have to admit, it wasn't. I liked Circe as a character, I liked that although she was sort of disparaged by the entire Titan/Mount Olympus crew as being weak and spineless and not like them, that she still had moments where she was still prickly and proud and able to instill fear in mortals with her rage kinda thing when the mood struck. I liked how other Greek mythological figures passed through - like when her sister's engagement was mentioned I was like DUUUUDE IS SHE THE MOTHER OF THE MINOTAUR HOLY SHIT LOL and then she was the mother of the minotaur and I was cackling. And like Daedalus and Icarus, Jason, Achilles and Patroculus, Ariadne and Theseus, etc.

I didn't really have any issues except I agree that the plot was a little bit... lacking. Novels don't always need a wild plot to be enjoyed and I never found myself wishing it would end except in the respect that I didn't like carrying my beautiful hardback around for so long in my bag. I think a large part of that does lie in the character though, she seems to have been more of a stepping stone character in mythology rather than a protagonist type. In that respect it was interesting to see from her perspective but she was always a bit distant from the action but she was exiled and I wouldn't have wanted the author to take liberties for the sake of a thrill.

I think TSOA had more depth plot-wise but I do think the source material offered more to work with. Circe is an interesting character but maybe would have been better as a novella? I found myself wanting to see more of other characters like Pasiphae, Ariadne, and Medea but cruelly once they were gone they were gone. The most exciting part of the novel for me was when Circe was summoned by Pasiphae cuz I was like OH DAMN I BET IT'S THE MINOTAUR I WAS RIGHT IT WASN'T A DIFFERENT KING OF MINOS but I wasn't sure and I didn't know why she'd be wanted anyway and then it ripped her hand off and it was great. Oh I did find it tense when Telegonus sailed off cuz you couldn't not suspect that some sort of fatal shit was going to go down when he got off that boat. I kept wanting Circe to be a bit more ruthless and kick someone's ass.

  

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Thanks to Bee for this magnificent set <3

I read Circe earlier this year and I can't quite put into words how I feel about it other than very very good.

I grew up with a huge interest in Greek mythology (and added a Classics minor for good measure) and it was beautiful to see these 'over the top' tales and characters made more grounded. Circe herself was remarkably relatable and made me feel bad for killing her in AC: Odyssey :P.

What did you make of the "plot"? (I say, because... I didn't think it had much of one...)
It had no plot, but not in a bad, clusterfork of a way. It was a series of incidents (much like Anne of Green Gables, if you will) rather than adhering to the traditional plot pyramid we're accustomed to today, which I think was a big part of it's charm for me! As a reader, I'm used to being moved along throughout the story, but this allowed me to really appreciate place.

  

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— graphics by mj ♥ —