Circe

Madeline Miller

Apr 2018 · Sold by Little, Brown

About this ebook

This #1 New York Times bestseller is a "bold and subversive retelling of the goddess's story" that brilliantly reimagines the life of Circe, formidable sorceress of The Odyssey (Alexandra Alter, TheNew York Times).

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.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language, and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.

#1 New York Times Bestseller -- named one of the Best Books of the Year by NPR, the Washington Post, People, Time, Amazon, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Newsweek, the A.V. Club, Christian Science Monitor, Refinery 29, Buzzfeed, Paste, Audible, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Thrillist, NYPL, Self, Real Simple, Goodreads, Boston Globe, Electric Literature, BookPage, the Guardian, Book Riot, Seattle Times, and Business Insider.

Ratings and reviews

Circe is an incredible piece of literature that I owe an awakening of self to. Read this book and have your daughters and friends and grandchildren read it. It's fiercely loyal to the sentiment of solidarity amongst women and any person whom experiences the kind of tribulations and oppression this version of the goddess Circe must learn to traverse. Ms. Madeline Miller uses gorgeously aged jargon and dialect that deepens the sense of fantasy and ancient charm while still keeping extremely relevant and fresh

Circe is such a wonderful book. It takes a minor character from a timeless classic and fleshes out both their long, storied past as well as their uncertain future and ties together many different Greek myths in the process. Miller's writing is beautiful, grandiose and paints a wonderful picture of a fantastical world that is full of danger and mystery. Circe is a lovely protagonist, and we follow her as she grows from innocent child, to jealous lover, to weary mother and all points in between. I cannot recommend this book enough

I feel like I should preface before spouting this book's praises that this story is definitely....heavy. Reading it definitely weighed on me. It's incredibly written and the story of Circe is incredible, but for a long while it was difficult for me to read. Circe's life is filled with sorrow, and just when you think it's going to get better it knocks you down again. Anyone who reads this should be ready to deal with the emotional weight of this tale. Like Bojack Horseman, this is the kind of book that you need to keep your heart protected to be able to enjoy it in a healthy way. I had to set it down for a long time before coming back to it because it made me depressed for a while. With that being said, the writing is absolutely incredible and a beautiful experience to be able to read. I was so glad that I made the choice to buy this after reading The Song of Achilles. With the warning out of the way, I would without a doubt recommend this book to anyone wanting to listen. 10/10.

About the author

Madeline Miller is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two novels: The Song of Achilles, which won the Orange Women’s Prize for Fiction 2012, and Circe, which was short-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2019. Her books have been translated into over thirty two languages. Miller holds an MA in Classics from Brown University, studied in the Dramaturgy department at Yale School of Drama, where she focused on the adaptation of classical texts to modern forms, and taught Latin, Greek, and Shakespeare to high school students for over a decade.