Circe

4.5 *

Official member of the Circe fan club.
She's not perfect. She's messy and vengeful at times, but she fights against the parameters of her life to find her own peace. We love a witchy, empowered woman.

3,5 ⭐

This is a character driven book, which is not something I go for. I stopped and almost DNF'd the book at the halfway point. Then I came back to it a couple of months later and found that annotating whilst reading the books was my saving grace.

Wow, honestly amazing. I was looking for something like the Red Tent and this did everything I liked and nothing I disliked from that book. I love things that attempt to fill in the missing, marginalized perspectives from history.

Fantastic book. Very well written.

Many books that tackle tales spanning hundreds or thousands of years struggle to keep the characters engaging as they rotate in and out. The characters end up flat and uninteresting. No so in Circe. In spite of the vast scope of its tale, the characters and plot stay engaging throughout.

The worldbuilding in Circe is excellent. Circe really brings to life the world of Greek mythology, but doesn't hit you over the head with facts, details, and names. Instead, it drops bits and pieces of lore as it's relevant to the main character, building up the world bit by bit. This is the kind of worldbuilding you expect from great fantasy novels, but applied to the world and tales of Greek mythology.

Great mythical retelling, had me glued to the page consistently the whole way through. The life of a god that chooses to change and grow unlike all those others around her. It's a beautiful ode to life and death, how the latter gives meaning to the former.

425

This book is a retelling of Circe's life and I recommend it to anyone who likes mythology. I especially enjoyed reading Madeline Miller's interpretation of Daedalus and Odysseus.

Madeline Miller writing is beautiful, and I think that is the greatest asset of the story. There is a lot of hype around this book, and I can understand how it happened. However, I did not like it as much as “The Song of Achilles” and, if I have read this one first, I am not sure I would have picked another book from the author.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 50% of the book but, between that point and the 80% mark almost nothing happens which made me loose interest in the story.

I am torned between the 4 and 3 stars but more inclined to the latter.

Loved it all!!!
The weaving of those famous Greek stories into this story of Circe was a pleasure to experience!

Madeline Millerin esikoisteos Akhilleen laulu ilmestyi suomeksi kymmenen vuotta sitten ja kertoi antiikin Kreikan myyteistä tutun Akhilleuksen tarinan Patrokloksen näkökulmasta. Monissa myöhemmissä tulkinnoissa Akhilleus ja Patroklos on kuvattu rakastajiksi, niin myös Millerin teoksessa. Millerin toinen romaani Kirke seurasi vuonna 2018 ja ilmestyi suomeksi Irmeli Ruuskan oivallisena käännöksenä vuonna 2021. Kirja meni minulta täysin ohi, kunnes bongasin sen Tähtifantasia-palkinnon ehdokkaiden joukosta.

Miller on opiskellut klassillisia kieliä ja opettanut lukiolaisille latinaa, kreikkaa ja Shakespearea vuosikaudet. Tältä pohjalta ei ole ihme, että Kirke sijoittuu niin ikään antiikin Kreikan myyttien maailmaan. Tällä kertaa Miller on tarttunut Odysseiasta tuttuun Kirke-noitaan ja kertoo tämän tarinan Odysseiaa laajemmin. Tunnetun eepoksen sivuhenkilö nousee oman elämänsä päähenkilöksi.

Kirke on auringonjumala Helioksen ja nymfi Persen tytär. Helioksen saleissa Kirke on syrjitty ja kiusattu, koska hän on erilainen kuin muut. Kirke uhmaa jumalia osoittamalla myötätuntoa rangaistulle Prometheukselle ja kiinnostuu ihmisistä. Kirke oppii noituutta, jumalten voimista erillistä voimaa, ja käyttää kykyjään muuttaakseen kuolevaisen Glaukoksen jumalaksi ja nymfi Skyllan kammottavaksi hirviöksi. Kun Kirken uhmakkuus käy ilmi, häntä rangaistaan karkottamalla hänet arestiin Aiaian saarelle.

Aiaialta Kirken löytävät silloin tällöin eksyksissä olevat laivat. Yksinäinen nainen aarteineen näyttää helpolta saaliilta, joten Kirken täytyy oppia puolustamaan itseään. Odysseiansa lukeneet tietävät Kirken keinot: Kirke muuttaa miehet sioiksi. Mutta sitten saarelle saapuu Odysseus, vaeltava sankari pitkällä kotimatkallaan. Kirkestä ja Odysseuksesta tulee rakastavaiset.

Kirke antaa Kirkelle äänen ja persoonallisuuden. Näkökulma on feministinen ja nostaa sivuhenkilöinä esiintyvät naishahmot vahvempaan osaan. Myös Odysseuksen puoliso Penelope pääsee esiin. Kiinnostavin hahmo on kuitenkin itse Kirke, jonka Miller piirtää ristiriitaisena hahmona. Kirke on taikavoimistaan innostuva noita, joka nuorempana toimii ajattelematta seurauksia pitkälle. Kuolemattomalla on kuitenkin vuosisatoja aikaa miettiä tekojaan ja Kirkekin joutuu saarensa yksinäisyydessä tekemään tiliä tekojensa kanssa. Äitiys tuo Kirkelle uusia näkökulmia elämään ja Millerin kuvaus Kirken ainutlaatuisista vaikeuksista äitinä on kiehtova.

Kirke on mainio uustulkinta klassillisista myyteistä. Naisnäkökulma muuten kovin miehisiin seikkailuihin on aina paikallaan ja Odysseus varsinkin näyttäytyy tässä kirjassa uudessa valossa, kun ensin kuullaan Odysseuksen kertomukset matkoistaan hänen itsensä kertomina ja myöhemmin Kirke saa kuulla Penelopelta ja Telemakhokselta toisen näkökulman suuren sankarin kotiinpaluusta ja toimista. Jumalia, hirviöitä ja sankareita tulvillaan oleva teksti on toisaalta fantastista, toisaalta sisäisesti loogista; ainakin niin loogista, kuin näiden jumaltarinoiden yhteydessä voi olla, sen verran sekopäistä porukkaa antiikin Kreikan jumalat ja titaanit kuitenkin ovat.

Tähtifantasia osoittautui taas hyödylliseksi palkinnoksi. Ilman sitä en olisi tätäkään mainiota lukukokemusta saanut.

i just love this writing style so much

This isn't the fairest rating, but I wanted to keep it in the middle. I am not a fantasy reader. Very few books in this genre hold my attention past the first few pages. However, I want to enjoy fantasy. I've been seeing/hearing about Circe for a while now and figured the Greek Mythology would intrigue me more. It did to an extent, but my brain just does not retain these names and their place in the universe. I ended up hurrying through most of it. I don't think it's a bad book. There were some passages I enjoyed immensely, but overall, I didn't like it and that is 100% my not being into fantasy and not the book itself. If this is your thing, it's fantastic. 

I will happily eat up Madeline Miller's radiant writing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

“A golden cage is still a cage”

2,5*

ehhh idk i thought the ending was really rushed but i like millers writing style so

It was a nice book to read especially if you are interested in mythology and have some background in this. The only problem was although each event was different from the others, they were similar in heart. The story turned into a cycle that was reiterated constantly. Nevertheless, I believe I enjoyed the Song of Achilles more than Circe.

Even as everyone was talking up this book, I was hesitant to read it because despite my witchy interests, Greek mythology has never appealed to me. Circe was so well-written, though, that doesn't matter. The characters are so interesting and the epic stories that get incorporated into the plot actually feel natural. Fantasy has fallen out of my favorite genres since I was a kid, but reading Circe made me feel like I used to reading those fantasy books. Plus, it's basically my dream to be an immortal with alone on an island with only animals and sporadic visitors.

I know basically nothing about Greek mythology and I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Circe. The author makes a massive world smaller and approachable and now I want even more.

I have LOVED reading this book at the same time as my mom!!!!!!!!! This book is everything I needed this summer. Having read the original text in the Odyssey, I didn't really know what to expect. Circe was such a whirlwind of a character in it, so powerful, but kinda one-dimensional. Obviously, Odysseus had to be elsewhere and Homer couldn't really focus on badass mf Circe.
Luckily, Madeline Miller has completely done her justice. Circe has been of my favourite characters that I've read about in mf years, seeing her grow through the ages has been delightful. Every character she interacts with leaves an impact on her and UhghghGHGHGH this was really really realllyyyyy good. I loved the ending, I loved the beginning, I loved the writing, love love love.
Being able to discuss the book with my mother was so lovely, idk, I love my mom <3.

Me gustó mucho, pero el final no tanto, fue muy confuso.

*4.5 only because i loved the song of achilles so much i cant give this book the same rating.

This is by no means a bad book, it was actually quite enjoyable. But I didn't develop any special connection with it, hence the rating.

3 de 5
Me gustó , aunque no logro entender mucho el hype que ví durante como un año, el final lo encontré como desinflado, sin mucha gracia. Independiente de eso, está escrito de una manera consistente, el ritmo siempre es el mismo, lo que igual es agradable. Es leer un documental pero adornado fantasiosamenre

[3.2] first off, this book is a gold mine of goosebump-raising quotes like:

I thought: I cannot bear this world a moment longer.“Then, child, make another.”

LITERAL CHILLS

I wish I could give this 10 stars