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Cindy's Reviews > Circe
Circe
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It’s difficult for me to rate this objectively, since I am unfamiliar and uninterested in Greek mythology, and I can’t fault a story that’s staying true to the source material which I had no interest in the first place. As a retelling, I’m sure Circe deserves 4 to 5 stars; it’s well-written with beautiful prose and has some good feminist themes. But I’ve decided to go with my personal rating, since that won’t affect the overall strong reviews it’s received. When I view this as a standalone story, Circe starts off strong with a lot of potential to subvert the misogynistic tropes of Greek mythology. The summary makes it seem like an epic story of a goddess standing up for herself, defying her family, and claiming her individuality. The actual results were lacking for my expectations: the plot was quite slow in which she spends majority of the time on her island and having sexual conquests with various men that visit her. There is a lot of name-dropping for other gods and mortals that I did not care for because they did not enhance the story in my eyes. I wish this had been a reimagining instead so that the feminist themes could have been explored more deeply; I would have loved to see the handmaids on her island play a more prominent role rather than read about her sexual conquests with other men, because the concept of an island filled with women who have been exiled by the gods is super interesting and would allow them to reclaim their own power and individuality. I also wish I had seen more resistance from Circe to her family, since the beginning of the story made it seem like she was going to be the black sheep that would overthrow them and made her a great character to root for in that aspect. I felt lukewarm about the story overall because the hype and raving reviews made it seem like an amazing feminist story, but those opportunities were not seized for the sake of staying exact to the source material. Otherwise, I think this would have been a great chance to redefine the genre with an updated reimagining.
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Reading Progress
January 1, 2019
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Started Reading
January 1, 2019
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Finished Reading
January 2, 2019
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by
Cindy
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rated it 3 stars
Jan 02, 2019 10:17AM
Haha yes I read this while I was on a long plane ride!
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I was hesitant to buy it, but now I'm less hesitant :P also, please read Skyward. Unrelated,but space bitches > mythological greek bitches
Wow.. You have such detailed points.. Can't wait for the roasts when you talk about it on your channel ;)
Agree with a number of points in your review. I was underwhelmed by the book and I am a fan of Greek mythology. Circe is one of the most significant sources of figures practicing witchcraft - and one of the few female figures of unabashed power in the Odyssey. I felt she came across as very dull and hesitant here - even when she was turning men into pigs. Cant wait to see a video on this.Love you channel btw.
I read The Song of Achilles in two or three days and I loved it, but this book I have started and stopped about three of four times because it didn't grip me the same way. I, too, have no real interest in mythology and so it's interesting that I have the same feelings,albeit not finishing the book, haha. Maybe someday
This is a book I am interested in reading but Greek mythology is not a favorite of mine so this book is one I won’t be in a rush to read.
This is exactly what I thought reading it!! I kept thinking “I feel like I am supposed to be wowed by this person’s cameo but I know nothing about greek mythology so the hype is lost on me” and wtf was up with so much lost potential with the handmaids?!?!
i know right? god, im so delusional about this book
I’m currently listening to the audiobook, and I just want to dnf it because even after hundreds of years she still has yet to grow a backbone and I just came here trying to see if there will be a part thay she actually fights back against her family 😩.
Hahaha yes. This was a lukewarm book.
A lot of greek myths are just name-dropping other gods and heroes.
I LOVE AND AGREE WITH THIS REVIEW SO MUCH!!
The dropping of names felt so unnecessary!!! I also thought it was going be like an anti hero theme. It felt very dull and anticlimactic!
The “funny” thing is that Miller is not really staying “true” to the original source. She takes many liberties with it, starting with Circe herself (she was never the “runt” of her family line, there’s no mention of a rape) and manages to make the story even more misogynistic.
“The summary makes it seem like an epic story of a goddess standing up for herself, defying her family, and claiming her individuality. The actual results were lacking for my expectations.” Exactly my experience. Glad to know I wasn’t alone!
Right, I feel like it didn’t pass the Bechdel test. Thanks for articulating my disappointment.
My thoughts exactly ..
You could've said it in lesser words - "I don't like Greek mythology so I'm going to rate this book lower"
