City News

Circe by Madeline Miller  

“Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive.”

Circe, Madeline Miller’s second novel, is a character-driven story recounting the life of the eponymous Circe, a witch who spends her days on the island of Aiaia. As a child of the sun god Helios and the naiad Perse, Circe is born into a household of power and wealth. However, as a child, she is seen as unsightly and difficult, leading her to have a secluded childhood. One day, she falls in love with the human Glaucos, a fisherman who ends up rejecting her for the nymph Scylla. Enraged by his decision, Circe unintentionally turns Scylla into a hideous sea monster, leading to a cascade of events that ends with her exile to Aiaia, an island south of Rome. Throughout the decades and centuries spent isolated on this island, Circe encounters many well-known mythological figures including Daedalus, Medea, and Odysseus, some of whom she has romantic relationships with. However, trouble is constantly brewing, and Circe must figure out a way to protect herself and her loved ones from the wrath and retribution of divinities more powerful than herself.

This wonderfully written novel explores the many facets of mortality versus immortality, the choices one makes, and ways to deal with loss and grief. A poignant tale, Circe demonstrates how even the most tactful people can find themselves in less-than-human situations that they must find ways out of. Readers can see themselves in Circe through her impulsive and painfully human decisions despite her immortality, allowing this novel to be quite relatable to modern readers. Even with all the obstacles Circe faces, she never loses her persistence and outlook on life, something valuable to readers today.

Circe is written in a way that bridges the gap between traditional myth stories and a more contemporary literary style, expanding the field of mythology to a larger audience to enjoy. It chronicles the life of a lesser-known goddess, and telling it from a personal perspective instead of a more plot-driven story gives it an intimate feel less common in mythological stories. Throughout the novel, Circe meets characters often more famous than her, and it’s quite refreshing to see the stories from her point of view instead of theirs.

Anyone who appreciates Greek and Roman mythology will love Circe; it’s an easy, quick read for those who want to get into mythology but do not know where to start. Its characters and their subplots all stay quite authentic to the original classic writings; it does not sacrifice authenticity in order to make the novel more interesting in any way. The language and style are reminiscent of Miller's first novel The Song of Achilles, so those who have read that novel and enjoyed it should read Circe as well. A gripping story, Circe is sure to be read and reread over again for a truly memorable experience. 

 Check out Circe  from NBPL!