Author – Madeline Miller
Genre – Fantasy, Mythology, Historical Fiction
Pages – 352
Year of Publication – 2018
Rating – 3.7/5
“I will not be like a bird bred in a cage, I thought, too dull to fly even when the door stands open.”
Circe is probably one of the most hyped books of all time. So I finally picked it up and to be honest I have been always fascinated by mythology.
The book beautifully introduces Greek mythology for the newer generation in a very poetic manner.
Circe is born to the god of the sun, Helios and Perse, a nymph. She was neither powerful like her father nor attractive or beautiful like her mother. She was considered inferior in her own house. Circe could never win the approval of her father because she was not as beautiful as she should be. Her voice was too thin, like a mortal, and her chin sharp.
Circe’s siblings came one after the other and made her life a living hell. She grew lonely as no god would marry her and humans were simply not enough for the daughter of Helios.
But then circumstances take a bad turn and she is banished to an isolated island. Circe’s exile on the island makes her realize the infinite power she possesses within her. She becomes famous as the witch who transforms men into pigs.
The book shows her struggle as a single mother, a woman who stands alone and who has to fight back in this cruel world. She has to decide where she belongs – among the Gods, she is born from or the mortals she has come to love.
I personally love character-driven novels but I somehow found this book or rather the last one-third of the book as too stretchy. The book kind of lost its charm otherwise it was a great read. I think the book turned out to be overhyped.
Lots of love,
Arunima x
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