May Book Club - Circe by Madeline Miller

[minzy]

Thoughts, analysis, opinions?

[travella]

2.5* I think I would have enjoyed this book much more had I recalled more about what I learned about mythology in school/college. Too many of the side stories were lost on me because, while I recalled some of the God's names, I recalled very little of their stories.

The first 15% or so of the book was dreadfully slow. If this hadn't been a book club book I probably wouldn't have continued. While the book picked up a little in the middle, it still wasn't particularly engaging. Not much happens..... The tension with Athena was the only real engaging part of the book for me so when that was resolved the book lost its momentum.

[minzy]

I took Latin throughout high school so many of these stories were once familiar. I liked how all the stories were woven in there (the Minotaur, Daedalus and Icarus, Scylla and Charybdis, etc.), but the book didn’t feel very original as a result. I really didn’t like the beginning, with all the misogyny and women seen as lesser than. Circe seemed dull much of the time, which I guess she gets a pass for since she “lived” a few thousand years. I related to her best when she was describing motherhood - wanting to protect the kid, the kid driving her nuts and making a mess everywhere... yep.

I kept confusing Telegonus and Telemachus when they were together.

I did like how Circe ultimately picked mortality over immortality. I wouldn’t want to live forever, either.

I was entertained well enough and liked reading it for the walk down memory lane. I’d say four stars. I think it would be a great read if you were studying for a Latin final or a Jeopardy appearance or something! 🙂

[rootbeerfloat]

All I remembered about Circe before reading the book was from The Odyssey. I liked reading her perspective about Odysseus and his men and how Penelope/Telemachus ended up with her.

I also appreciated the other stories/characters being a part of the story. For being exiled on an island, she interacted with others a decent amount.

[dontlook]

DNF. I read maybe a quarter and put it down. I just couldn’t get into it.

[scribellesam]

I read it awhile ago and liked it pretty well but also found it to be quite slow moving and (obviously, based on the subject matter) pretty depressing as a story. Basically felt like I was reading about a woman get treated like crap for hundreds of years. It was well written and I liked the way it ended, but it was a downer and a slog for me ultimately. I think I gave it three stars on Goodreads.

[minzy]

May 29, 2019 16:09:42 GMT -5 rootbeerfloat said:

All I remembered about Circe before reading the book was from The Odyssey. I liked reading her perspective about Odysseus and his men and how Penelope/Telemachus ended up with her.

Everything else I recall encountering about Odysseus/Ulysses made him sound like such a noble, clever, “good” character. I was a little surprised because this book really highlighted his flaws and ultimately showed him as pretty awful.

[meowmaps]

I loved it but I've been a mythology fan since I was a kid. I knew a lot of the characters but not some of the background stories so I enjoyed learning more. I suppose one of the things I liked the most about it is that I thought it was woman-empowering. It was nice to see Circe overcome her unhappy past and evolve into a self-confident being, capable of loving, respecting, and protecting herself.

[Nonny]

I really liked it. I didn't realize it was Circe who had turned Odysseus's men into pigs (actually, I didn't remember it was Odysseus's men either, I just remember some sailor's being turned into pigs on an island, and then them being saved).

I basically found the whole book nicely familiar, like when you are re-reading a book, but still new and fresh because I didn't remember enough to make all the connections.

[rainbowchip]

I finished this yesterday. I liked it better than I thought I would. I'm not really into mythology so I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it wasn't for book club.

I still don't really get how all the gods work. Like Helios is the sun but he lives his life in his palace but also crossing the sky every day. Can he be in two places at once? Those were the parts that took away from the story for me.

I did like how this was written using more modern language. It helped me follow it better and made the characters stand out better.

[MrsAxilla]

May 31, 2019 0:33:21 GMT -5 Nonny said:

I really liked it. I didn't realize it was Circe who had turned Odysseus's men into pigs (actually, I didn't remember it was Odysseus's men either, I just remember some sailor's being turned into pigs on an island, and then them being saved).

I basically found the whole book nicely familiar, like when you are re-reading a book, but still new and fresh because I didn't remember enough to make all the connections.

I like this description! I took a few mythology classes in college around the same time I was taking women’s studies, so I liked reading from a female perspective. I also had American Gods in the back of my mind.  I liked how Circe learned that even though she was powerless, there was so much she could control - from her island to her own mortality, ultimately. I gave it five stars, but I think we’ve already established that I’m generous with my ratings - lol.

[ufcasey]

So my mythology knowledge is sketchy at best so I found this to be an interesting and new (to me) story. I felt it was more of a character study novel, thus with the slow pacing. I liked how the other mythology stories that I did vaguely know were woven into it - Icarus and the Minotaur. While I read the Odyssey quite a long time ago, I did not remember Circe from that at all, so the section of the book dealing with him was very interesting to me because it shed a negative like on classic 'hero'. I also really related to Circe during the motherhood section - she was tired even though she technically didn't need sleep LOL!

I gave this four stars in GR.

[wesleycrusher]

I read this last year and loved it. I have only a basic knowledge of mythology (thank you History of Theatre I college course!) so I liked how it took Circe's story (which was unfamiliar to me) and mixed it in with a bunch of stories I did know. There was a mix of fresh and familiar. Overall, I really enjoyed the myths being reimagined by a modern-day female author.

[expectantsteelerfan]

13 year old me would have loved to read this when we were learning about Greek Mythology in social studies. And previous English teacher me would have loved to assign this as a companion piece to reading The Odyssey. Current me who was reading it for this book club (albeit late since I wasn't buying it and the library took forever, had to read the large print copy) found it ok. I gave it 3.5 stars. I didn't hate it, but wasn't picking it up to read any free moment I had or anything.

[mrspez07]

I just gave up on this book, I think. Got about 60%. I’ll keep it until it’s due back to the library, but I’m ready to pick up something else in my pile.
I did like the connections to familiar (although fuzzy) characters and references to gods I knew. Some parts were interesting and kept my attention, others slogged. Overall, not a particularly captivating story (at least to this point).
I was in a big reading streak and this book has totally sidelined my desire to read versus any other hobby (maybe that isn’t a bad thing?!). I’m just ready to move on.