“Under the smooth, familiar face of things is another that waits to tear the world in two.”
The Goddess Circe, daughter of Helios and Perse, is unlike any of her siblings or cousins. She doesn’t wield the same charm or beauty of the other gods and goddesses, and is forced to live among her kind as an unsightly, clumsy embarrassment. Amidst the disapproval of her family and community, Circe finds love with a mortal fisherman. With her passionate desire to pursue him and give him a place in her world, she is led down a path of sorcery and transformation that leads, by her formidable actions upon another nymph who stood in her way, to her exile. During her exile on the island of Aiaia, Circe experiments with herbs, potions, witchcraft, and ravenous power, all the while discovering her place in the mortal world.
Circe is delivered by Miller with raw conviction, a clear modern standout in the literary realm of Greek mythology adaptations. She successfully turns the story of a cold villain on its head, revealing a misunderstood survivor. Already impressing readers with The Song of Achilles, a story thatched with that of Circe, Miller certainly knows how to pen a tremendous reimagining of some of our oldest tales.
Even the most seasoned mythology patron will find fresh thrills and visceral, newfound connections with characters we thought we knew inside-and-out. Miller’s use of simple dialogue and description made the story seamless and effortless to read, capable of pulling anyone in from the first word to the last. I would confidently recommend Circe to readers who have outgrown Percy Jackson, to lovers of history and mythology, and to anyone who savors a classic adventure.