Circe by Madeline Miller - Novel Adventures May Book Club Review

Overview:

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.

With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world.

My Review:

For the May Novel Adventures Book Club selection, we chose Circe by Madeline Miller.  It follows the story of Circe during her banishment from the house of Helios to a lonely island where she hones her skill as a witch.  

I have always loved Greek mythology and was excited to delve deeper into a character that I really didn't know much about.  I thought the author did a good job bringing Circe to life but I didn't like how oblivious she was to everything and everyone around her.  She is a god and lives in the palace where there is so much intrigue and back stabbing and she should have been more aware of her surroundings and wise to what was happening.  I understand she is just a nymph but it just didn't ring true to the surroundings she was in.

I liked the story but did not like the way in which it was told.  It was told in more of a memoir-style and I just do not like that.  Unfortunately, that seems to be the trend lately with books and while some may argue that it is artistic, I see it as a cop-out.  It's much easier to tell a story after the fact, rather than in the moment and letting the story unfold for the characters and readers at the same time.  I want to be involved in the action - not reading about it after everything has finished.  The preview said this had "page-turning suspense" but I just didn't get that vibe.  

All that being said, I enjoyed getting a different perspective from some of my favorite mythological characters like Odysseus and Daedalus but would like to have seen them be more than just a foot note.  

There was too much that happened and though the story spans a significant amount of time, there was so much happening that each incident was given just a few pages.  I would like to have seen this book broken down into a trilogy so that I could have had more time with each character. 

Overall, I didn't mind the book.  If it would have been told differently, I would have loved it.

Have you read this book?  Join the discussion below!

June selection:  The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman