Circe Book Review

Circe is a historical book retalling ancient Greek mythology written by Madeline Miller.

BLURB

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.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

REVIEW

Circe is filled with mythology and historical events that had the historian inside me interested. Although I was interested, I did find the beginning slow as the history and family knowledge is explained and I just wanted the interaction with witchcraft to start.

The relationship with Odysseus what extremely well written and the events that follow completely threw me as I wasn’t expecting how the story was going. When reading Circe I knew a lot of the Greek names and the famous figures as well as learning how Circe ended up her island. It was great that she got a happy ending in the end which most of the time isn’t typical with the Olympians.

I recommend this book to lovers of mythology and those who have read the Percy Jackson series.

3.5/5 stars