Circe by Madeline Miller

Summary

Though Circe may be the daughter of Titan god Helios, she feels rather ordinary. She feels disconnected from her family and turns to the humans for companionship. She then discovers that she does in fact have special abilities, she can practice witchcraft and it proves to be more powerful than even the gods know what to do with.

Circe is banished to a deserted island where she hones her craft. This is where many of us would be familiar with the tale of Circe. She confronts many of mythologies most famous figures, including Odysseus. She lives a fairly peaceful life for many years, but that eventually comes to an end.

She is forced to deal with Olympic gods that feel wronged, men wanting to take advantage of her and her island home as well as other dangers. She eventually has to decide if she belongs with the gods she was born from of the humans she has come to love.

Thoughts and Opinions

Though this book has a fantastical element to it, it reads much more like literary fiction than science fiction to me. There is also an interesting spin on Greek mythology. Though there are still many of the classic characters we think of when we think of mythology, they have a modern-day twist to them that I appreciate. I felt like reading this book gave me a better understanding of stories I have been told or read in the past because it was made more approachable.

Though this book has a fantastical element to it, it reads much more like literary fiction than science fiction to me.

Downfalls

I truly can’t think of any downfalls of this book. I enjoyed the pace of the story and felt that it was well written and enjoyable to a wide audience.

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