Circe: A Novel
by Madeline Miller
Kansas Dad had talked about reading Circe for a while when I saw it come up in an Audible sale. I can't remember now whether it was one of the daily deals or in an actual sale. However it showed up, I bought it. He listened to it first, then eagerly waited for me to finish so we could talk about it.
First of all, the audiobook is fantastic. The reader did an excellent job portraying all the emotions of Circe, as well as changing her voice enough to identify other speakers. I found myself wanting to return to the audiobook not just to know what would happen next, but to enjoy listening to the voice reading.
In this novel, Ms. Miller imagines a life for Circe beyond what appears in mythology and the Odyssey. A reader familiar with mythology will be rewarded with references and allusions to many famous and infamous figures. We were particularly struck with the portions of the story (as I'm sure many are) that flank and include Odysseus's appearance on Circe's island, seeing him from outside Homer's telling. Much of it is newly imagined, of course, with modern ideas hovering under and behind the events.
Throughout the book, the author explores the meaning of mortality.
The book has many slow periods, but it was worth the time.
I intend to allow my daughter to listen to the audiobook at the end of ninth grade, after she's finished reading The Odyssey. There is one distressing scene of rape and plenty of violence, being based on Greek mythology, but I don't think it will be too graphic or upsetting for a 15 year old. I'll be interested to hear what she thinks of it.
I have received nothing for this post. I purchased the audiobook from Audible. Links to Amazon are affiliate links.
