Circe The stunning new anniversary edition from the author of international bestseller The Song of Achilles

4.5 stars

Isabella am 19.06.2021
Bewertungsnummer: 1507935
Bewertet: Buch (Taschenbuch)

I am a total newby when it comes to Greek mythology, so this was an experiment. The writing was excellent and I loved (almost) every single thing about Circe. I feel like there's a major spoiler for one of Madeline Miller's other books, The Song Of Achilles. I believe it's not necessarily a spoiler if you already know a thing or two about Greek mythology, but since I didn't, I was unpleasantly surprised. I was really looking forward to reading her other book as well, but now I'm just not as excited as I used to be. So if you're 1 new to Greek mythology and 2 are planning on reading The Song Of Achilles as well, you should definitely do so before reading Circe.

A relatable goddess

Bewertung am 05.05.2025
Bewertungsnummer: 2483234
Bewertet: Buch (Taschenbuch)

It took me an eternity to get through this book, nevertheless I appreciate the dichotomy between the endlessness of the book and Circe's endlessness of her divine life (or so it seemed until the last few pages). Once I understood 90% of the relations and remembered almost every name it was easier to understand the storyline and overall easier to read. The amount of names didn't distract from the fact how good of a book "Circe" is. I had no expectations going in, so I could only be surprised by anything happening. I loved recognising storylines and names I've already heard of and getting to know them from a new angle (e.g. Miller's Odysseus vs "Epic"-Odysseus). Circe's story is all about love, heartbreak, woman- and motherhood. A goddess who, unfortunately, is quite relatable. I subtract one star simply because it's harder to read than your average novel, although, I think, a reread would change my mind.