"Circe" by Madeline Miller, Review

Having freshly finished this book, there are a few important words I feel the need to share.

First of all, what a stunning testament to the fleeting, but beautiful nature of the human condition.

"Of course my flesh reaches for the earth. That is where it belongs."

I've always been deeply afraid of death, but this book has guided me to view human existence in a new light. "Circe, he says, it will be all right" - these words might as well have been spoken directly to me.

*****************

This review has been in the works for a while.

I can't even count the amount of times I've picked up this book, stopped reading for a while, only to return to it a couple of months later. Somehow I finished the entirety of the "Song Of Achilles" in the midst of these mini hiatuses. I think that was, really and truly, the major turning point for me. After reading the Song of Achilles (which I will here on under be referring to as TSOA, for convenience sake), it was hard to return to any other book - I'd grown so entranced by Miller's enviable knack for fantastical and mystical world building, I couldn't let that illusion slip away from my fingers so quickly.

Immediately, I grew bored from attempting to read other books that didn't achieve this same effect.

Reading TSOA turned out to be just the push I need to help me appreciate this book even more. Having a somewhat clearer background of the Trojan war, it was easier to make sense of the plot and make connections (especially since TSOA is referenced multiple times, it felt satisfying like linking puzzle pieces together). I guess this also helped me grieve TSOA, I was not ready to let this book go as yet. In reading Circle, it felt as though the story had never really finished - instead I was merely looking at it from a new perspective.

I think one of the few drawbacks of reading this book, is that now my standards have been set high. Now that I've had a taste of what magical world building feels like, no ordinary flavour will satisfy this craving (I mean, just look at this:)

"The wind rippled past me like lyre notes, and my own breath seemed to pipe in harmony. A dewdrop fell from a branch. It struck the earth like the ringing of a bell"

Another element of this book which I particularly appreciate was the relationship developed between Circe and Telemachus. Generally I find that books tend to place such a strong, over-emphasis on romantic relationships that other beautiful bonds are overshadowed.

Strangely I always thought I preferred familiarity and normality, mundane descriptions of every day life in the books I read - but Miller's writing has shown me the comfort, warmth and safety that escaping to completely foreign, far away lands can bring.

However, the most comforting aspect of this book by far must be the ending. Circe's refusal of her divinity taught me that only in the crude acceptance of death, an inalienable aspect of our humanity, can we truly come alive.

Noteable Quote:

"She is constant. Constant in all things. Even wise men go astray sometimes, but never her. She is a fixed star, a true-made bow. Nothing she says has a single meaning, nor a single intention, yet she is steady. She knows herself" (quite an accurate depiction of the woman I aspire to become, one day)