CIRCE by Madeline Miller

Since I know virtually nothing about Greek mythology, the events in this story were mostly new to me.   In fact, I think not knowing what was going to happen was an advantage.   Circe is a goddess who has been banished to the island of Aiaia for performing witchcraft on both a mortal and another goddess.  Circe may live on an island, but she has adventures galore, as over the centuries a variety of both gods and mortals dock in her harbor.  She is granted an opportunity to leave the island to assist in her sister’s childbirth, and in that brief getaway we meet both the Minotaur and Daedelus. Back on the shores of Aiaia, Odysseus eventually lands and becomes Circe’s lover for a year.  Circe also comes in contact with his wife Penelope and their son Telemachus.  I gather the author stayed true to the events in The Odyssey, but perhaps she lets Circe off the hook a little too easily for some of her wicked transformations.  No matter.  I found the author’s version of Circe to be completely admirable.  Miller justifies Circe’s deeds as being the result of very human emotions, despite her divinity—love, jealousy, and self-preservation.  I liked this book so much better than The Song of Achilles, partly because the narrative is told from a woman’s perspective, but mostly because the pace seemed to me to be a lot more lively.  Most of all, though, Miller tells Circe’s story in a way that brings this ancient tale to life.