Circe by Madeline Miller
My knowledge of Greek mythology is minimal: I know only the broadest of strokes. I mean, I’ve read the Odyssey (bits of it at least?) and I’ve seen “O Brother Where Art Thou.” I was a bit skeptical that I would enjoy this book, but it had such rave reviews and a lot of ladies I know really enjoyed it, so I joined the pack and I’m glad I did. In fact, not really knowing about mythology made it even more fun to read and […]
Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe has been topping a lot of people’s Best Of books this year and for good reason. It is a well written, interesting take on several well known Greek myths but doesn’t require an extensive knowledge of Greek mythology to enjoy (although Madeline Miller is obviously a Greek mythology fan girl). Nymph-turned-witch Circe is the daughter of Helios; she is never meant to rule kingdoms because while she is immortal she is not a God. She finds happiness being a nanny to her siblings but […]
Thanks to all the Cannonball Read folks who raved about Madeline Miller this year. Because of the accolades, I read The Song of Achilles back in May and Circe in November and both were books that engaged and transported me. Thanks to my procrastinating ways, I decided to review both books together and because they’ve been reviewed by a lot of folks already, I thought I’d talk more about my experience reading them and spare you the plot summary. I read Song of Achilles on my […]
Unlike the rest of the world (or so it occasionally seems), I haven’t read The Song of Achilles, mostly due to my being possession of a fiery hatred of Achilles that tends to ruin anything he happens to be mentioned in. However, I did note all of the squealing going on around it and so, when people started talking about Circe, promptly splurged on it. I was not disappointed. Taking another figure from the myths – one mostly known for turning Odysseus’ men into pigs […]
I absolutely loved The Song of Achilles. It was incredibly moving and I was surprised how much it changed my view of a hero I basically considered a tool bag (Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Firebrand may have helped shape that interpretations). I think at least part of the power was because I didn’t not expect to be so moved by a character that often could easily be reduced to warrior with a huge ego. Circe, on the other hand, was a […]
This was so good, it made me cry. I’m still crying right now as I type this! Bawling like a little baby. And not because I’m sad! Just because it was perfect and I have all these feelings and they are leaking out of me without my permission. (Okay, some of those feelings are sadness.) I need to buy this book, and I need to buy it in hardcover (the endpapers are so pretty, and the deckled edges make me happy), and I need to […]
