How the people doing today? 😤 It's a bright and sunny day over here, perfect weather to read this book. Especially in front of some beautiful vista to accentuate the majesty of the Earth. That's what this book is about: the beauty of our world - our majesty.
For a book based on mythology and gods this book is precisely human. What it means to be human, a singular entity in the vastness of our existence. It's grand, it's personal, it's sweet. I love this book to bits and am happy to share it with you. 😁
📢 SPOILER-FREE 📢 As always though, it's written with everyone in mind. 😉 All-inclusive! 🍰
Note: All quotations in this article are excerpts from Madeline Miller's "Circe", 2018.
“When I was born, the word for what I was did not exist.”
This is a tale told by Circe, the Greek goddess of... lots of things, as Greek gods are tend to be. Her most prominent role in the Mythos is serving like a pit-stop for Odysseus during his treacherous journey back home. 💪
In other words, if you've read the Odyssey, you'd know that Madeline Miller plucked the perfect character for this story. Since Circe's plight lends itself perfectly as a narrative device. 👌 Her nature compliments the themes of humanity and love that Madeline weaves so masterfully throughout the text.
Circe - the book, not the character 😁 - is about us, humans / mortals. Yet is told by something inhuman, something immortal. The actual mortals in the plot are few and far between. And yet the themes are laser-focused. Streamlined in a way that only a master at their craft can achieve.
“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.”
And Circe herself is a bad mofo. I love this character to bits, what she represents and how she came to represent that. Strong yet feeble. Wise yet ignorant. A perfect contradiction - a God that wants to be mortal. Preposterous. 😱
Also, it's a nice primer to brush up on your Greek mythology. A pro for some, a con for most I'd wager, because of the way that information is presented. Let's talk about that now, since that's arguably this book's greatest weakness.
“But in a solitary life, there are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me.”
So, while this book is all about humankind and what it means to be mortal - it is still set in this world of Gods, Goddesses, Fates, and so on. More specifically in the mythological version of ancient Greece. A fantastical place and time with a lot of self-imposed jargon that will go over the head of the unfamiliar. 😅
Before you ask - yes, there's a codex at the back of the book with all pertinent information. However, it's kinda dumb to use it 😆. Since Greek mythology spans ages upon ages, finding out a certain someone is another certain someone's mom/dad/uncle is pretty spoilery. So Mrs. Miller cannot rely on the codex alone. Also, that's a very lazy way to do it. If the information is important it should be in the narrative. I shouldn't have to flip to the back of the book to read it. 💯
Madeline Miller apparently agreed with my assessment and decided to put the important information about the Greek hierarchy, and general knowledge, as a part of the text. This, as it turns out, is a double-edged sword. ⚔️
I honestly don't know if there was a better way to do it, since this topic is so large in scope. Basically, what Madeline Miller does is she halts the narrative until she finishes laying out the current piece of lore-building. So you have this flowery language describing this fanciful epic - and, an exposition dump in the middle. Then back to the flowery prose. It's kind of... clunky. 😁
It took me out of the experience. It was like I was sharing a campfire with Circe, and she was telling me this grand tale about her life. But every once in a while, she would halt to interject with a quick 🤣 history lesson. It just didn't feel right.
“You cannot know how frightened gods are of pain. There is nothing more foreign to them, and so nothing they ache more deeply to see.”
As for the accuracy of the myths themselves, Miller takes several liberties with the source material to suit her needs. As she should in my opinion. This is after all its own thing, modern addition to the works of Greek mythology. So don't expect to pass your class just by reading this book. 😀
Which again puts a damper on those info-dumpy sections. Since the info being dumped upon you is not even useful per se. Those sections really are the book's low point IMHO.
“He showed me his scars, and in return he let me pretend that I had none.”
The language Madeline uses to describe the world and her characters is divine. (pun intended 😋)
I really love the framing device where Circe is telling us her story, it really fits well with the concept of the book. if this was third-person limited I think it wouldn't have worked half so well.
You also always feel like you're reading from the perspective of a God, which is essential. The pacing never felt forced or unnatural (except for those info-dumpy sections I previously mentioned). But the rest of the product is so strong that you forget you were being taught ancient Greek mythology during the whole thing. 😅
I am quite a stickler for these types of things. And the fact that my stickler's brain decided to ignore the stilted prose, in favor of the overall feeling this book gave me, is the highest praise I can give it. 😇
This is also as good a place as any to talk about Miller's characters. They are fun, human, and godly. Their characterization never feels forced or out of place. They feel like Gods, but they look like humans, (fxxk, that kinda makes no sense, but the line is good so we'll keep it! 😛)
“Only that: we are here. This is what it means to swim in the tide, to walk the earth and feel it touch your feet. This is what it means to be alive.”
If you don't mind sitting through a class on Greek mythology, this is one hell 😈 of a book. I've found it has the same effect over me as the Name of the Wind - the more time passes, the more I like it, despite its shortcomings.
And this is a book that contemporary readers and romance readers and sci-fi/fantasy readers can all enjoy. I really do feel it breaches a lot of target demographics.
You will enjoy this book even if you have no idea of Greek mythology.
It gets a wholehearted recommendation from me. 😌
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Obligatory Shout-out to the 🍕PIZZA🍕 gang, 🤙 gang. 🤙
Have a great day! 🙌
PS: Still a bad cover photo. But it's at least better than my last one! I really hate that my first cover left such a high standard... 😂
Return from Circe, by Madeline Miller - REVIEW to Јоцко's Web3 Blog
