Moopy Book Club (November): Madeline Miller - "Circe"

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Selected by @Phoenix

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GoodReads Choice Winner 2018


In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
 
I loved it, it was different from what I usually read.

My knowledge of Greek Mythology was rudimentary at best and I’ve been meaning to read more about it for so long and so this made me read book I had about the who’s who of Mount Olympus and the main stories from the Illiad and the Oddysey before starting Circe. It made it easier to understand the characters and to get into the story.

Don’t know what to say other than that it was easy to feel for the main character and to root for her in her struggle against everyone really. 3.5/5
 
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Interesting take. I had to read The Odyssey way back when and it's just not my sort of thing.

I did appreciate the take on it in this book, but it's not for me.

2/5

Also: we still need to decide on a December book. Shall we go for the Booker winners?
 
I started reading this on holiday and never finished because I have the attention span of a goldfish, but I'll try and dig it out for the tram.
 

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