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Wednesday, May 29, 2019

Circe by Madeline Miller

This post contains spoilers. 

Circe by Madeline Miller was first published in 2018. This is an account of the Greek Goddess’s life from her own point of viewI found this book to be extraordinary. Though I have not read a lot of Twenty – First Century fiction, this was probably my favorite fictional work  that I have read that has been published this century. It is a book that works on many levels.

Though much of the story is drawn from Homer’s Odyssey, many other Greek and Roman mythological sources are drawn into the story including Ovid’s Metamorphosis as well as what is known about the lost Ancient Greek epic poem The Telegony. One of many strengths to this work  is the way that Miller has managed to weave these sources together seamlessly.

Circe’s story is told in the first person. The book picks up in her youngest days. She is the daughter of Helios the Sun God. The young Goddess is not very powerful and is surrounded by Gods and Goddesses who show little humanity or ethics and who often bully or take advantage of her.  Early on she encounters and aids Prometheus who is being persecuted and tortured by the other deities for aiding humanity.  Unlike most of the other gods, Prometheus possesses principles. His aid to humanity  seems to be symbolic of humanism which is a theme throughout the book.  This encounter has an impression upon her that resounds throughout her life. 

As time passes Circe and her siblings discover a new power that has been previously unavailable to the Gods. This is the power of witchcraft and involves the use of herbs and the casting of spells as a way to exert power. Circe is a mostly sympathetic character but she shows serious imperfections. At her worst moment she uses her newfound power to turn her romantic rival Scylla into a monster. Most of her fellow deities have no conscious, but Circe does. Thus, this act haunts her for the remainder of her life.  Though her immoral fellow gods are not much bothered by Scylla’s fate, the discovery of witchcraft causes a rift in the balance of power between the gods. When Helios and Zeus strike a deal to keep the peace, Circe is sent into exile to the island of Aiaia. 

Over the years Circe encounters many famous Gods, mythological creatures and mortals including Hermes, Athena, Medea, Daedalus, Jason, the Minotaur and others. Her infamous habit of turning ship’s crews into pigs is shown to be a defensive strategy to protect herself against gang rape. Eventually Odysseus shows up. He appears to be sensitive and thoughtful person who is also very imperfect and has also committed many wrongs. He and Circe begin an affair. After a year he departs. A pregnant Circe eventually gives birth to Telegonus. The book covers Telegonus’s youth and adolescence. Circe struggles to use her powers to protect him against a murderous Athena. Eventually he sets off for Ithaca to find his father Odysseus. 

At Ithaca Telegonus finds an Odysseus who is cruel and is growing paranoid. Odysseus is killed when he attacks Telegonus. Odysseus’s wife Paleopole and his son Telemachus are more or less relived by the hero’s death and flee with Telegonus back to Circe on Aiaia. There, the four grow close as they encounter further challenges. 

There is so much going on in this book. First, it is a great character study. The portrait of Circe is so well drawn. She begins the story as an unassertive and vulnerable person. Her parents, siblings and early romantic interests often belittle and take advantage of her. She slowly learns to assert herself. The entire book, from the first pages to the last is a kind of an arc where Circe develops her self - worth in the face of narcissists who seek to diminish her. The story has a lot of feminist themes as it presents a girl and later a woman who slowly finds liberation as she faces people and society who try to disregard and exploit her. I found this aspect of the book realistic and I thought that Circe’s experience and personality evolution applicable to both  women and men of a certain personality type.  As noted above, along the way Circe does not always behave with perfect morality. Despite this, she does develop something of her own ethical code as the story goes on and mostly behaves sympathetically. Miller pits a lot of nuance into her. There are other great characters including Telegonus. 


The story is also filled with keen observations about life and the human condition. Like all deities, Circe is immortal. The narrative frequently contrasts this with the mortality of humans.

At one point Circe is thinking about her mortal son,

Even if Telegonus survived Athena, even if he made it all the way to Ithaca and back, still I would lose him. To shipwreck or to sickness, to raids or wars. The best that I could hope for would be to watch his body fail, limb by limb. To see his shoulders droop, his legs tremble, his belly sink into itself. And at the last, I would have to stand over his white-haired corpse and watch it fed to the flames. The hills and trees before me, the worms and lions, stones and tender buds, Daedalus’ loom, all wavered as if they were a fraying dream. Beneath them was the place I truly dwelt, a cold eternity of endless grief.

At another stage she observes, 

It was their fate… the story that they all shared . No matter how vivid they were in life, no matter how brilliant , no matter the wonders they made , they came to dust and smoke . Meanwhile every petty and useless god would go on sucking down the bright air until the stars went dark.

In the above quotations death is portrayed as  dark event and a tragedy. This theme is developed throughout the book. It is ultimately worked out as it becomes apparent that it is death that gives people humanity and that ironically, mortality is a strength. Death is interwoven with the humanistic themes very elegantly.  

Like an epic poem, there are also observations upon parents and children, love of various kinds, courage and more.

The book is written in prose full of metaphors in the style of epic poetry. In this way and in others Miller’s writing is poetic. The words also flow very well. This all adds up to writing that is artistic and excellent.

I would throw one yellow flag out to readers. Though I think this book can work on some levels as a standalone story, I would recommend that one be familiar with the Odyssey and maybe a little bit of mythology surrounding Circe from other sources before reading this. This is less of a retelling of these stories as  it is more like Miller has filled in a lot of blanks from other stories. The author has combined ancient themes with modern ones. The effect is very impressive. 

I loved this book. It contains outstanding story, characters, themes and prose. It weaves together timeless elements with Miller’s interpretation. It is a marvelous edition to established mythology. I highly recommend this book. 


42 comments:

JacquiWine said...

I love your enthusiasm for this book, which sounds rich and multi-faceted. Funnily enough, a friend just recommended it to me the other day. Like you, he found it fascinating and absorbing. No wonder it's on the shortlist for the Women's Prize for fiction...

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Jacqui - I am not surprised that the book is up for awards. The book works on many levels.

Felicity Grace Terry said...

One of the lesser known Goddesses. This sounds like a wonderful read. I'm away to add it to my wish list.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Tracy - I think that Circe is best know for her role in The Odyssey. I would be interested to read what you think of you read this.

Laurie @ RelevantObscurity said...

Wonderful review. I have wanted to read this and now I want to even more!

CyberKitten said...

Thanks for this. I picked the book up a few weeks ago (as I'm a sucker for Greek myths) and was already looking forward to it. After your review I'll bump it up my 'To Read Soon' list.

BTW - Just bought a book you might find interesting:

The Politics of Piracy: Crime & Civil Disobedience in Colonial America by Douglas R Burgess Jr.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Laurie. If you give it a try I would love to know what you thought.

Judy Krueger said...

You have written one of your best reviews here. I also loved this book, in fact was amazed by it, and you cover the main reasons why I felt that way. It did help me a great deal to have read the new translation of The Odyssey by Emily Wilson shortly before I read Circe. Wilson has a full introduction introducing all the characters and the historical setting, the many gods and goddesses. Your yellow flag is excellent advice.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi CyberKitten- If you read this I would love to know what you thought about it.

The Burgess book looks very good. Colonial America was such an interesting place.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Judy. I have heard such great things about The Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey. I should give it a try soon. I have read a few translations of that work. Most recently the Stephen Mitchell version which was excellent.

Sharon Wilfong said...

HI Brian! This books certainly sounds like a modern re-interpreting of the old myths. But I think that's valid, because, for me the most valuable aspect of all folk lore and myths are how they reflect the values and beliefs of the contemporary audience.

If I'm not mistaken, King Arthur and Beowolf were "Christianized" to suit contemporary audiences, but their origins were rooted in pre-Christian Europe.

It's most evident in the Ring of the Nibelung where so much of the story is barbaric and obviously rooted in pagan practices, but the characters going to church and stuff seems to be "Cut and paste" into the original storyline.

Have a great week!

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Sharon- You raise some really good points. I never thought about how myths have been so reimaged thoughtful history. On a related point, the characters and stories that came from The Odyssey were elaborated on by Greek and Roman writers and playwrights for thousands of years. One can look at books like this as just a continuation of the tradition.

Kathy's Corner said...

Hi Brian, great commentary. I value your opinion so I definitely want to read this book but before I do I must read the Emily Wilson translation of the Odyssey as you say. Sounds like this book has alot to say about humanity and is not afraid to touch on subjects like death which we all tend to shy away from understandably. But Circe points out that if mortals lived forever like the Gods, never dying, maybe that also has consequences. A planet where no one died for example might end up being a grumpy, petty place.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Kathy - I wonder about a world without death. There may be some bad results. It seems unknowable. The Wilson Translation of The Odyssey sounds so good. I can attest that the Mitchell version was excellent.

Sue Bursztynski said...

Oh, I loved this book! And yes, I’m very familiar with the Greek myths, which made it all the more interesting to see what this author did with it.

Tolkien certainly thought about the idea of death vs immortality. His poor Elves just can’t die - not permanently. They can be killed, yes, but then they just have to go and hang around the Halls of Mandos, until they are reborn. So he refers to death as a gift that only humans are privileged to have.

In some SF novels I’ve read, the rich can get extended lives. As a result, their children have to wait a very long time for their inheritance or never get to leave home, even. It’s not a happy situation, and I can see it happening.

Paula Vince said...

I've seen Circe around lots, and getting so much acclaim recently, I have been interested. It sounds from your review that it's well deserved. I don't remember a whole lot about the mythology I read in High School, but I guess it's the sort of thing that all comes back as we read. Thanks for the great review.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Sue - Miller really did some great things with these myths. Tolkien's deathless Elves were interesting. I think science fiction would need to make death problematic otherwise it would be boring. It really is hard to imagine what it really would be like.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Paula - This book is very popular these days. I do not know if Circe's tale is that well known so I would at least give her part of The Odyssey a read before giving this a go.

Whispering Gums said...

I have heard so many good things about this book - including from my daughter. I've read a few "retellings" of classic stories - Margaret Atwood's Penelopiad, and David Malouf's Ransom. For some reason, I mentally resist them, but those I've read I've liked. It's interesting that there's quite a bit of retelling going on with a feminist perspective. (Malouf's Ransom is not, though!)

Brian Joseph said...

Hi WG - I also thought that the Penlopiad was good. I tend to dislike retellings of other literary forms especially classic literature. However, I think that the Greek cycle of myths has been retold and reinterpreted by the Greeks and Romans themselves for thousands of years. The fact that many of these retellings are from women’s perspective is interesting long overdue..

James said...

Thanks for a great review of what sounds like a fascinating book. It has been recommended to me and with my interest in classical texts I will add it to my tbr list.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks James. I think that you would like this. I would love to know what you think of it if you read it.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Hi Brian, I loved reading this book too. If you haven't already, you should also read her first book "The Song of Achilles." It's one of the most beautifully written books I've ever read and an all-time favourite of mine!

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks for stopping by Debra. I really do want to read Song of Achilles. If you have not read it, I also highly recommend Margaret Atwood’s The Pelelopid.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

Yes, I have read The Penelopiad and you're right, it is a wonderful retelling of that ancient myth. Here in Canada, the novel has been turned into a stage play and I have had the great good fortune to have seen two different productions of it. The play's distinguishing characteristic is that all the roles are played by female actors, including the male role of Ulysses.

baili said...

this is really powerful and provoking review dear Brain!

i found story interesting through your wonderful words

I know about ancient myth little and the "wonder woman" has pushed me to read about it more

how amazing that book is great success and i i can see why as story and characters are strikingly appealing

i would love to peek in life of Circe who learns gradually how to survive this
life and in this world ,and i think this is most powerful message the book has

i also was touched by her concern about her son's mortality

but as you mentioned that writers develops this thought slowly in the story

i agree that the little goodness world has is because of they find them selves helpless front of death

i am afraid once scientist learn to extend human life ,world will suffer with more quarrels and insanity

i have to say that having your blog is so important to me as it keeps me in touch with books until life gives me chance to read them peacefully again :)

Have blessed days ahead!

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Debra - I had head about the play. But not that it had an all woman cast. That is so interesting.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks so much Baili.

Much, but not all of the Circe myth can be found in The Odyssey.

The whole immortality thing is so interesting. Aside from the problems of overpopulation many people think that it will bring general unhappiness. But I tend to be an optimist and think that it will be enormously positive with some problems mixed in.

I hope that you get more chances to read going forward.

Have a great day!

Suko said...

Brian Joseph,
This book really sounds excellent and your enthusiastic review is wonderful. I will definitely keep an eye out for this one (will I spot it at the library?). Thank you for the terrific commentary, and intro to Circe, Brian Joseph.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Suko. It is a very popular book. I think that most libraries would have it.

JaneGS said...

Glad that you liked Circe, Brian. It’s definitely one of my favorite books read this year. I agree that Circe’s story is about finding the power within—in this case, witchcraft is more potent than god-given power, which is very cool when you think about it. My husband is currently reading it—he didn’t care for it until Circe left her father’s palace and went to her own island.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Jane - The two kinds of supernatural power here are interesting. It has a lot of meaning contained in it.

Carol said...

Thanks for the review, Brian. I'd been wondering about it after you suggested it would be a good read. I loved C.S.Lewis' Till We Have Faces.

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Carol- I must give ‘til We Have Faces a try.

thecuecard said...

Nice review Brian & thanks for your tip about gaining some background on Circe before attempting this work. I'm a bit hazy on mythology so I think it would be beneficial for me to reading up first on Circe & the Odyssey before reading this novel. I'm glad you liked it.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Susan - I think that the Odyssey is well worth the read anyway. I think Ovid’s Metamorphosis is also very good.

Judith said...

Hi Brian,
So many, many readers have admired this book! And so interesting to read what you've written about it. A fascinating post, thanks!

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Judith- This is a case where, in my opinion, the popularity is deserved.

Susan Kane said...

The world of mythology has always been fascinating.

Your review makes this book all the more interesting, with your insights and connections.Seeing Circe having some human elements and feelings is totally unexpected.

How she calmly sees dust and smoke for man, while the gods suck bright air--Circe seems to envy man, who has a starting point and an ending.

Brian Joseph said...

Thanks Susan - Circe did cone to eventually envy humans for the reasons that you mention.

The Bookworm said...

I am glad you enjoyed reading Circe, fantastic commentary as always. I have seen this book around. Greek mythology is interesting, I remember reading The Odyssey together as a class for school. And I like the quote you shared when she is thinking about her mortal son.

Happy weekend!

Brian Joseph said...

Hi Naida - Greek mythology is very interesting and worth reading. Happy Saturday!