Book Review : Circe by Madeline Miller

Rating : ★★★★★

Number of pages : 333

Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

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. Her isolation leads her to discover a power forbidden to the gods : witchcraft.

This was first Miller's book I have read. And there is no regrets. Zero. Actually, after reading Circe I went and purchased The Song of Achilles. But, that is a story for another blog post.

Where even do I start? How do I explain this magnificent book in a few pages? It could never do its justice anyway.

Circe is a female character I fell in love with. NO, REALLY. I DID.

From her early years, she was different. Well, she was treated differenly because of her not - so special looks. She was considered a nymph amongst the Gods.

"When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist."

Young love drove Circe to cast a dark spell and in result Zeus banished her to the island of Aiaia. There, she learned how to handle her spells, how to master her potions and crafts. She has found something that was always within her, just hiding.

Throughout the book, we follow Circe's journey and her development from a naive, young nymph to a strong, powerful witch. We do come across many Gods being mentioned in the background (Athena, Zeus, Odysseus who plays a huge role in this story) and if you do like Greek mythology this will be a satisfying read for you, but the book is about Circe and Circe only.

We get to read about her happiest of days, about second chances, sadness, bravery, motherhood and love. Her story is something I have never read before, and in spite of the fact that she has done some horrible things, her charachter is one of my favourite.

A.K.A. turning Odysseus's companions into swine.

"Daedalius did not long outlive his son. His limbs turned gray and nerveless, and all his strenght was transmited into smoke. I had no right to claim him, I knew it. But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul clips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a consellation was he to me."

Circe is amazingly - written fantasy with Greek mythology somewhere in the background. It is intertwined with rich descriptions and wholesome details with a fast paced story that will make you turn page after page after page.

Also, it's all about women. About imperfect women, witches, nymphs, mothers, warriors...which is so very important for retellings of Greek mythology. Not all witches will be tamed, not all nymphs are horryfing and not every mother is perfect.

"It is a common saying that women are delicate creatures, flowers, eggs, anything that may be crushed in a moment's carelessnes. If I had ever belived it, I no longer did."

In conclusion, Madeline Miller could make me read anything, owing to her wonderful style of writting. Her ways of telling the story made me easily imagine everything she was explaining and I was crying as well. Loads and loads of crying. (bear in mind that I am a cry baby.)

Dear Madeline Miller, I thank you for giving Circe to us! I will carry her story in my heart forever.

P. S. "Witches are not so delicate."

Until next review, Val.