Circe - Customer Review

During these unusual times we have been working hard to stay in touch with the members of our shared reading groups to find out what they've been reading.  Some have put down their thoughts as reviews that we'd like to share.  Here's Olivia with her review of 'Circe' by Madeline Miller.

Yn ystod y cyfnod anarferol yma rydym wedi bod yn gweithio’n galed i aros mewn cysylltiad ag aelodau o’n grwpiau darllen i ganfod beth maen nhw wedi bod yn ei ddarllen.  Mae rhai wedi rhannu’u barn ar ffurf adolygiadau ac fe hoffem rannu’r rhain.  Dyma Olivia gyda’i barn am  'Circe' gan Madeline Miller.

‘In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power--the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.’

Madeline Millers’ Circe gives a powerful voice to the goddess of magic and daughter of the sun Helios. As a plot device in Greek mythology – most notably her infamous spell in Homer’s poem of turning Odysseus’ men into pigs – it is refreshing to read a magical and heartfelt recount of Circe that explores a woman’s perspective in a predominantly male collection of myths.

Circe is foremost a beautifully written story about self-transformation and adapting from strife, as we develop an understanding of the alternative side to the jealous and vindictive goddess. Miller tactfully touches upon themes of family outcasts, female rivalry, motherhood, love and loss; and it is so authentically written that you will feel like you are making spells with Circe in her cobbled floor cottage, sailing the seas with her on one of her iconic journeys, and prowling Aiaia with her familiar lion.

“I had been cold and stern for so long, carved with regrets and years like a monolith. But that was only a shape I had been poured into. I did not have to keep it.”

As a Latin and Greek teacher, Miller’s knowledge of the Titans and Olympians is extensive and fresh as she weaves the story in and out of the well-known myths and legends with a fine gold thread, and invites us to suffer Circe’s injustices and triumph with her as she becomes a powerful sorceress in her exile. The writing is so vivid and illuminated that I felt like a part of Circe’s long life and was reluctant to leave her at the end. I highly recommend this unique novel of the unsung heroine. 

John William Waterhouse - Sketch of Circe, 1911-1914