Circe
written by Madeline Miller
I love mythology. Norse, Greek, Indian... lay it on me because at the end of the day they are all quality stories of epic proportions. The mythology I know the most about is Greek, and I rarely turn away from a story surrounding the gods of Mount Olympus. So, Circe was a bit of a no-brainer. Circe by Madeline Miller takes a goddess from Homer's Odyssey (the second oldest surviving piece of Western literature) and turns her from a secondary character in a someone else’s story into a protagonist of her very own.
When Odysseus, the hero from the Odyssey meets Circe, the witch of Aiaiai, she is an exile who offers him refuge, but Circe is an immortal goddess and her life has comprised of much more than that. Circe is the daughter of Helios, the sun god, a titan, and compared to her siblings and especially her father, she is unimpressive. To the other gods she is shrill and talentless, a waste, and she spends most of her eternity accepting that, but only until she meets humans. Through chance encounters with mortals, Circe's true identity begin to form and shine through. Yet, with these discoveries comes danger, and this leads to her exile when her power becomes a threat.
If you enjoy Greek Mythology, this book is chock full of it, and you have never experienced it quite like this. Circe is sentenced to Aiaiai for most of the book, but from the beginning, her story is punctuated with run-ins with the most prevalent names in Greek Mythology such as Daedalus, Hermes, Prometheus, the Minotaur, Scylla, Athena, and, of course, Odysseus. But in this book, Circe is not a supporting cast member. Her story is rich and shapes the people around her. For being an immortal with all the time in the world, Circe's story is told in a fast pace with one spectacular moment leading into the next. No rest for the reader, barely any rest for Circe.
As a lover of Greek mythology, it was a thrill to see so many classic stories making appearances, but this was far from what makes this book a favorite of mine. What makes this book special is Circe's suffering. She falls in love only to be abandoned, her acts of revenge backfire, she’s exiled, invaded, hunted, heartbroken, and mocked. I’m not sure I’ve ever read of a character suffering more than she, but I’ve also never loved a character more. It was not Circe's despair that made me love this book but her perseverance.
Circe is knocked down time after time, but always finds her way back to standing tall. And though she is always looked down upon, this is not an underdog story. Miller shows a different response to adversity and judgment. Circe isn't trying to prove her father, mother, brothers, or sisters wrong, she is trying to live and create her own happiness. Each time she was pushed down, she found ways to adapt and live in contentment by accepting the world she was born into and learning to carve out a place in it for herself.
One of my favorite moments of the book comes when Circe begins her exile. She is sentenced to reside on a small island alone, and has to adapt to solitude. So, she delves into witchcraft and forms a bond with the nature surrounding her, unlocking secrets of powerful magic. Though at times doubt comes to plague her, she does find a way of living and a comfort within herself. Circe never stopped surprising me, but this was her first substantial triumph. All of us face moments where life changes and the world becomes a lonelier place, and it meant something to me to see Madeline Miller explore that with Circe. Finding that space of being alone but not lonely and the role that nature can play in that balance was calming and one of the most hopeful themes for me in the book. Circe adjusted when she was at her lowest to acknowledge and appreciate what she had left around her.
I highly recommend Circe, and I’m so happy it found me as I venture into my 20s. This decade may not include Charybdis or Scylla, but it’s nice to know that no matter what I face, be it uncertainty, doubt, or loss, I can persevere and thrive if I remember celebrate what I already have.
