SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2019
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
THE NEW YORK TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER
SELECTED AS BOOK OF THE YEAR BY BUZZFEED, THE DAILY TELEGRAPH, GUARDIAN, I PAPER, IRISH TIMES, REFINERY29, SCOTSMAN, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, TIME MAGAZINE, TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT, AND WASHINGTON POST
From the Orange Prize-winning, internationally bestselling author of The Song of Achilles comes the powerful story of the mythological witch Circe, inspired by Homer's Odyssey
Chosen as must-read book of 2018 by the Guardian, i, Mail on Sunday, Sunday Express and Stylist
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. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.
When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.
There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
Breathing life into the ancient world, Madeline Miller weaves an intoxicating tale of gods and heroes, magic and monsters, survival and transformation.
I normally do not gravitate towards books that are centered around mythology or folklore, but my book club was reading this and I'd heard such great things about it that I decided to give it a fair shake.
Circe is the daughter of a god (Helios) and a nymph. She is often scored by her family and others in her home because she's just a little too plain, a little too uninteresting. Until the day she gets everyone's attention by unleashing her magic against another nymph that she sees as her romantic rival. This act earns her banishment, and she is sent to live out eternity on a deserted island.
The story follows Circe's life as she builds herself a home and an existence on her island among the flora and fauna and occasional visitors that those knowledgeable in mythology will easily recognize. Even I recognized more than a few, though some of the finer points of their stories were not known to me. I did get a little lost in all the names in the first part of the book, especially when it came to Circe's numerous siblings.
One of the highlights of the book for me was the depiction of Circe as a mother. Despite this story being about a goddess, I thought it contained one of the most accurate and harrowing depictions of mothering an infant and toddler that I've ever read.
Overall, I really enjoyed this, particularly in audiobook format. I will have to circle around and read Song of Achilles now.
