Well, I’ve done it. I’ve finally read the Goodreads Readers’ Choice Best Fantasy book of 2018: Circe, by Madeline Miller. And, it only took me until halfway through 2019 to post my book review of it.
I usually don’t read fantasy, which is a bit ironic considering that the novel I’ve written is a blend of historical fiction and fantasy. But, I love stories based on religion and mythology, particularly ones that create backstories for peripheral characters in classic tales or from well-known parts of history. Think along the lines of The Red Tent or Girl with a Pearl Earring. Circe falls easily into this category, since it draws upon parts of Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey, but also builds a completely new mythology for the character of Circe, who is largely known only as a sorceress and paramour of The Odyssey‘s hero, Odyssesus.
Despite obsessively reading Greek myths from childhood through college, I admit that my knowledge of the goddess Circe is primarily from how Homer depicts her in The Odyssey — more specifically, from the 1990s NBC movie adaptation of The Odyssey starring Armand Assante and Bernadette Peters. (I think I still have it on VHS cassette somewhere, complete with where I accidentally hit the pause button while recording and therefore lost about 30 seconds of crucial Cyclops scene time. #ThoseWereTheDays).
Circe starts off very strong, drawing the reader into the mesmerizing world that the goddess is born into. Miller’s writing is exquisite; her tale reads like an epic poem, filled with beautiful metaphors, similes, and descriptive imagery. She’s clearly paying homage to Homer, which helps invokes the majesty of an classic, epic myth. I was fascinated by Circe’s intimidating and surprisingly lonely childhood amidst fearsome and magnificent gods. I was also immediately captivated by Circe herself, who seems to be the black sheep of her celestial family.
Eventually, Miller gets to the Circe we’re all familiar with: the cruel temptress who offers feasts to starving sailors before turning them into swine, and who convinces the hero Odysseus to dally with her on her exotically beautiful island. I appreciated this retelling, and was excited to see the story move beyond her time with Odysseus, since his departure signals where my knowledge of Circe’s traditional fable ends.
Unfortunately, this is also where I started to become a little disappointed with Circe. I felt that the story stalled out in several places while I was reading, particularly after Telegonus enters the scene. I was still intrigued by the premise of the novel, but I would periodically grow weary of events taking place, or with the interactions between certain characters. Compared to the action of the first half of the novel, the second half was just a little “ho-hum.” It wasn’t enough to make me stop reading, but I did have to nudge myself a few times to find out where Circe’s story would ultimately lead her.
I’m glad I kept reading, though, because it definitely led her somewhere I did not suspect. I have no idea how much of Circe is based on “actual” events (i.e., popular mythology), but Circe’s life in Miller’s novel certainly takes a few unexpected twists.
Overall, I like Circe for what it’s done for its titular character: create a fantastic, wondrous, and emotional backstory for a mysterious figure we’ve all heard of, but have really only seen through men’s eyes. We know Circe as a woman who lives on an island, surrounded by men whom she’s preyed upon with seduction and magic. But, we don’t really know how she got to the island, or how she became this “wicked witch” in the first place. Everyone deserves to have their own story told, and I loved that Miller finally gave Circe hers, told in her own voice.
And, Circe’s not the only one who gets a revamp in this novel; Miller brings a sharp, intriguing sense of dichotomy to many classic Greek heroes and monsters found in The Odyssey. Too often, legends paint certain characters as either diametrically good or bad. Just as we are shown a different side of Circe, Miller creates similar, sympathetic backstories for several other mythological “monsters,” such as Scylla (of Scylla and Charybdis) and the Minotaur. In turn, she builds up the crueler nature of the heroes we’re used to glorifying, like Odysseus. As a result, the black-and-white world of “good guys vs bad guys” is wonderfully muddled. Through Circe’s eyes, the reader is able to see that the propensity for both good and evil lurks within all creatures, even heroes and monsters.
As one of my first forays into fantasy, I think Circe was pretty good. Although I didn’t love the entire story that Miller gave her heroine, I loved that fact that Circe was given a story in the first place, and that it was one that made her a powerful, intriguing, and empathetic figure. If nothing else, Circe proved why retellings are one of my favorite genres of literature.
What are some retellings of classic stories you love? Feel free to send some recommendations my way in the comments below!
And, stay tuned for my book-inspired recipe: Greek Chicken Orzo Salad!
