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Circe (novel)

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Circe
Circe cover art
AuthorMadeline Miller
Cover artistWill Staehle
LanguageEnglish
SubjectCirce
GenreFantasy
PublishedApril 10, 2018
PublisherLittle, Brown and Company
Publication placeUnited States
Pages393
ISBN978-0316556347
OCLC1029608347
Websitehttp://madelinemiller.com/circe/

Circe is a 2018 novel by American writer Madeline Miller. Set during the Greek Heroic Age, it is an adaptation of various Greek myths, most notably the Odyssey, as told from the perspective of the witch Circe. The novel explores Circe's origin story and narrates Circe's encounters with mythological figures such as Hermes, the Minotaur, Jason, and Medea and ultimately, her romance with Odysseus and his son Telemachus.

Plot

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Circe is the divine daughter of the titan Helios and naiad Perse. Deemed unattractive and powerless from birth, she is neglected by her father and bullied by the rest of her vain family. When she is still young, she witnesses the Titan Prometheus being punished for giving fire to humanity and gives him water when no one is looking. She bonds with her younger brother Aeëtes, but he leaves her to rule his own kingdom.

Circe meets and falls in love with Glaucos, a mortal fisherman. Devastated by his mortality, Circe feeds Glaucos sap of magical flowers grown in soil that was once soaked with the blood of the titan Kronos and transforms him into a god. Arrogant in his newfound divinity, however, Glaucos rejects Circe in favor of the nymph Scylla. Circe's jealousy causes her to use the flowers' magic again, transforming Scylla into a bloodthirsty six-headed monster. Circe confesses her deeds to Helios, who disbelieves her powers at first; Aeëtes reveals that he and his siblings are witches who have the ability to draw out magic from such herbs. To keep the peace between the Titans and the Olympians, led by Zeus, Helios and Perse are forbidden from having more children. Aeëtes and his other children are to be monitored, but Circe is punished for purposely seeking out the magic and using it on another god. Circe is permanently exiled to the island of Aiaia.

Circe uses her exile to study and hone her witchcraft. Over the centuries she spends on Aiaia, Circe interacts with many mythic figures. She receives visits from the Olympian god Hermes, whom she takes as a lover. She is escorted off the island by the mortal Daedalus, at the request of Circe's sister and the Queen of Crete, Pasiphaë. During her brief visit to Crete, Circe helps her sister birth the Minotaur and uses her witchcraft to help tame the monster. Many years later, the hero Jason and his wife the witch Medea (Circe's niece) arrive on Aiaia after having stolen the Golden Fleece from Circe's brother Aeëtes, murdering Medea's brother, Absyrtus, in the process. Circe cleanses them of the crime and warns Medea of Jason's waning interest in her but is rebuffed.

Circe enters a period of loneliness and is excited to host a group of forlorn sailors who arrive on Aiaia in search of food and rest. Once the sailors realize that Circe lives alone on the island, the ship captain rapes her. Circe uses her witchcraft to transform all the men into pigs. When subsequent ships arrive at her island, she continues to do so, eventually not even waiting to see whether or not they will attempt to force themselves on her. One ship arrives led by the hero Odysseus, who charms Circe into sparing his crew and hosting them on her island. Odysseus and his crew ultimately stay on Aiaia for one year. Though Odysseus and Circe have an affair, he leaves to continue his journey back to Ithaca, where his wife and child wait. Circe gives birth to a son, Telegonus.

Circe realizes that the goddess Athena threatens her son. Circe casts a spell to protect the island while Telegonus grows. When the teenage Telegonus begs to leave the island to meet his father, Circe acquires the poison tail of the marine god Trygon as a weapon for his protection. When Telegonus meets his father, however, Odysseus attacks him and is accidentally killed by the poisoned spear. Guilty, Telegonus returns home with Odysseus's wife, Penelope, and son Telemachus.

Having lost her hero Odysseus, Athena visits Aiaia to offer her patronage to Telemachus, who refuses her. Telegonus accepts in his stead and embarks on his own heroic journey. Forlorn by the loss of her son, Circe summons her father and asks him to negotiate with Zeus to end her exile. Helios initially refuses, but Circe blackmails him by threatening to inform Zeus of how she spoke with Prometheus, which could potentially start a war between the Olympians and Titans. With Telemachus's help, Circe uses the poison spear to turn Scylla to stone and collects more of the flowers she once used on Glaucos. Finding love with Telemachus, Circe uses the flowers' magic on herself with the intention of becoming mortal and living out her days traveling with him.

Critical reception

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According to Book Marks, the book received "rave" reviews based on eighteen critic reviews, with twelve being "rave" and five being "positive" and one being "mixed".[1] The critic aggregates Books in the Media and Bookmarks gave the book ratings of 4.14 and 4 out of 5, respectively.[2][3]

In a review for the New York Times, Claire Messud describes Miller's Circe as "pleasurable," approving of its feminist themes and its "highly psychologized, redemptive and ultimately exculpatory account" of Circe's familiar tale.[4] A Washington Post review by Ron Charles contextualizes Miller's novel within the Me Too movement and praises her reimagining of Circe's story as "harrowing and unexpected", casting a "feminist light" on timeless tales that "illuminates details we hadn’t noticed before."[5] The Guardian's Aida Edemariam also praises Miller for finding novelty and "narrative propulsion" by anchoring her retelling around the "emotional life of a woman."[6]

In 2018, Circe was named the Best Fantasy novel in the Goodreads Choice Awards, received the Red Tentacle Kitschie Award for best novel, and was an Athenaeum Literary Award winner.[7][8][9] In 2019, the novel was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.[10][11]

Adaptations

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In 2019, HBO Max announced an eight-episode adaptation of the novel to be written and produced by Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Circe". Book Marks. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Circe Reviews". Books in the Media. Archived from the original on 19 Oct 2021. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Circe". Bookmarks. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
  4. ^ Messud, Claire (2018-05-28). "December's Book Club Pick: Turning Circe Into a Good Witch". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-09-06. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Review | The original nasty woman is a goddess for our times". Washington Post. 9 Apr 2018. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  6. ^ Edemariam, Aida (21 Apr 2018). "Circe by Madeline Miller review – myth, magic and single motherhood". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  7. ^ Jarema, Kerri (4 December 2018). "The 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards Winners Are Here & 'The Hate U Give' Won In A BIG Way". Bustle. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  8. ^ Chandler, Mark (16 April 2019). "Miller's Circe picks up Red Tentacle at Kitschies | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Literary Award". The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  10. ^ Jean-Philippe, McKenzie (2019-04-29). "An Oprah's Book Club Pick Just Made the Women's Prize for Fiction Shortlist". Oprah Daily. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  11. ^ Emerson, David (5 June 2019). "The Mythopoeic Society: 2019 Mythopoeic Awards finalists announced". www.mythsoc.org. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  12. ^ Otterson, Joe (2019-07-30). "HBO Max Orders Greek Mythology Drama 'Circe' From Amanda Silver, Rick Jaffa". Variety. Archived from the original on 2019-07-30. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
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