Circe
By: Madeline Miller / Narrated By: Perdita Weeks
Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
Goddesses, monsters, and heroes! Oh my!
It turns out that Circe was EXACTLY the audiobook I’d been waiting for since Miller wrote the brilliant The Song of Achilles. It’s not written as elegantly, there’s not as much sheer poetry, but it’s still a beautifully written book, and Circe, daughter of Helios, is a TOTALLY rockin’ heroine!
She’s rather an outcast in her bunch of Titans, and a single act of mercy to Prometheus sets her up as a person with a loving and giving heart. Okay, sounds like she’s a softie, but she most certainly is NOT! Just ask Scylla—the once-upon-a-time beauty now horrific monster and eater of men. Yes, Circe feels things deeeeeeeply!
Indeed, it’s her willful acts of magic that get her in trouble, but it turns out to be an exile that she’s very much suited for. She becomes a crafter of herbs and of spells, she becomes a mentor to wayward nymphs, she becomes a tamer and friend to wild beasts, most notably wolves and lionesses.
And when she becomes a victim one time too many, she becomes the individual who will turn men into swine. Indeed, men are kinda sorta swine all through the book (Heck! All through mythology too, I mean jeeeeez!!!). But pleeeeeeeeze don’t think Miller is being a feminist; rather, she’s depicting a strong, intelligent, independent woman, and the results are marvelous!
Jason and Medea turn up. Daedalus turns up. Athena turns up (tho’ SHE is in NO way welcome).
And certainly Odysseus turns up for his time to bask in Circe’s sun.
The book is narrated in a truly superior manner by Perdita Weeks. She fearlessly gives voice to both gods and mortals alike and guides them through smooth times, through fraught times. This is a truly epic book, and it was a pleasure to listen to.
Whether you’re into mythology or not, you’ll be captivated by this amazingly crafted story of a woman getting along in a god’s world. And if you’re into “happy” endings, you won’t be disappointed.
A happy ending? From a myth?!? Who knew!!!
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