“Overhead the constellations dip and wheel. My divinity shines in me like the last rays of the sun before they drown in the sea. I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands.”
~ Circe
Garmus, B. Circe. Little, Brown, and Company, 2018. p.385
I have always had a fascination with Greek mythology but I’m a dabbler, so I don’t know all the gods, goddesses, nymphs, demons, etc. When I came upon this book I had not yet heard of Circe, the daughter of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans. She is a being who creates frustration and awe all at once; you are annoyed with her but also feel a deep kinship with her and her struggles with wanting to belong. The author, Madeline Miller, has been able to take a mysterious character from the annals of Greek mythology and create a masterpiece.
Circe is born into a family and a world that considers her “less than”, one where her own family treat her with more unkindness than anyone. After she suffers betrayal from a forbidden human she falls in love with, her father Helios is so upset he banishes her to an island where she is to spend the rest of her life alone. She makes the island her own and metes out justice to the bad men that find themselves on her shores, looking to steal from her or rape her. Over centuries of time she eventually discovers herself and her own powers but also the harsh truth of her immortal existence that is without end. She finds things in her nature she does not like and discovers there can be growth from her pain. This is a story of evolution and freedom as she hones her craft. Circe decides what she truly wants and will not let go of, something all of us want and need, to love and be loved in return. Experiencing her transformation into her true nature is worth the wait.
One of my favorite things about this book are the tie-in’s to so many other well-known figures in Greek mythology, including Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, Odysseus and his son Telemachus ,the gods Zeus and Hades, the Minotaur, and even the goddess Athena all have parts to play in Circe’s story. I think the intro for the book says it best, “With unforgettable 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” (Miller, p. 0). Circe is now one of my favorite characters in Greek mythology that I never even knew existed before Madeline Miller wove her magic in this beautiful tale.
Buy or Borrow
On this one, I definitely say BUY. I have read it all the way through twice in the last two years. There are so many intricate details and so much happens that I found new little easter eggs when I read it again the second time around. It will be on my rotation to reread every few years. And I’m also looking forward to other works by Madeline Miller. You can pick up a copy of the book by visiting the author’s website where she has several links you can purchase from, including some indie ones, which is cool. You can find it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, check it out at your local library, or see if you can download it from your local library for free using apps like Hoopla or Cloud Library. I just recently found that they are also turning Circe into a show on HBO so something else to get excited about with this one!
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