Circe by Medeline Miller Book Review
Who is
Madeline Miller? Why her Circe has gained so much popularity? Is It just a story
about helpless women? To get answers to these questions please read the article till the end where I am going to review the book in detail without any
spoilers If you don't want to read the entire article watch the short video that sums up everything.
About the Author:
Before
focusing on the book let me tell you who is Madeline Miller! So Madeline Miller
is an American Novelist who owns Orange Prize for Fiction for her debut novel
the song of Achilles. She is also a recipient of Alex Awards. Circe is her
second book that is our today's concern. Both of her books are a retelling of
Greek mythology.
Book Description:
Published
in 2018, Circe is a mythological Fantasy book. It tells the story of the
transformation of a weak meek, self-pitying, and helpless woman to a confidant
strong powerful witch. The plot rounds around the protagonist Circe who is
one of the daughters of the god of the sun
Helios. She neither is beautiful nor has a sweet voice to the eyes of her
society and thus, rejected by her kin. Isolated in her world she turns to the companionship
of the mortals and in turn of events discovers that she possesses the power of
witchcraft. Blinded by the love she casts a dark spell and being
threatened, wrathful Zeus as a punishment banishes her to deserted Island of
Aiaia. From now on her journey of witchcraft starts. She sharpens her occult
powers, tames wild beast and gathers thrilling experiences. Eventually, she
becomes a witch acquiring the knowledge of potion, transformational arts and
herbs. On her this course of the journey, she meets different Greek mythological
characters including the mighty Odysseus for whom she almost risks everything.
But living alone all by oneself in a deserted Island is not easy. There lie
dangers too. The story is all about how Circe overcomes those hurdles and
become a powerful individual. The setting of the story is a world that has its
own norms and way of conduct.
Book
Insights:
The text
is told from a famine gaze. Circe's character is very very complex. Miller
portrays the difficult natures of different relationships through the amazing
manipulation of the characters. It is not just the story of a helpless woman. It
is the story of a woman in a patriarchal world who rises to overcome all hurdles.
The novel
is extremely modern and intense.
The
representation of the social hierarchy of power through elite gods and week helpless
mortals also demand attention.
Book
Features:
The novel
is written in 1st persons
point of view of Circe. So we get the entire psychological picture of
her mind.
Millers
description of nature with meticulous detailing demands praise.
The text
as if runs like a song having rhythm in it. The language is graceful and lucid.
It turned out to be a slow read book that should be cherished bit by bit.
All these
traits make the text unique and intern it gains huge popularity among readers.
The book
has around 336 pages and the written price is Rs. 499/-.
Rating:
My rating
for the book is 4.6 out of 5 stars
Good reads
rating for the book is 4.2 out of 5
