Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year 2018. The Song of Achilles’ author unspools a tantalising mythological tale of survival, transformation, revenge and women’s fight to be free.
Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019
When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist.
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. Yet, in the golden halls of gods and nymphs, Circe stands apart, as something separate, something new. With neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and scorned and rejected by her kin Circe is increasingly isolated. Turning to mortals for companionship, she risks defying her father for love, a path that leads her not to the marriage bed but to a discovery of a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.
Banished by Zeus to the remote island of Aiaia, Circe refines her craft, fate entwining her with legends: the messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home. As her power increases and her knowledge grows, so Circe must make the ultimate choice: to decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.
A source of fascination for ancient writers from Homer to Ovid, Circe is a character whose story is steeped in magic and mystery. Caught up in the story of heroes, she is a figure apart, a player in the lives of heroes and gods but one who has never commanded her own story, until now.
From the imaginative power that summoned Orange Prize-winning global bestseller The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller returns with an electrifying take on Greek Myth’s most misunderstood deity. From her tale Miller spins a story of antiquity’s wildest rebel girl, a sun-god’s daughter with a human heart. One of Waterstones’ choices for our Best Books to Look Out for in April, booksellers and customers alike have been swept up by this moving, exuberant novel, translating the male-centred fantasies of myth into something startlingly feminine, real and awake.
"Circe has really set the standard for fiction publishing this year, both in terms of Miller’s exquisite writing and Bloomsbury’s beautiful production values. Miller has breathed new life into the Greek myths, putting a welcome feminist spin on old narratives: it is a thoroughly modern and pertinent retelling by a master storyteller." – Bea Carvalho, Waterstones Fiction Buyer
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
ISBN: 9781408890080
Number of pages: 352
Weight: 668 g
Dimensions: 234 x 153 mm
Circe gives us a feminist slant on the Odyssey … Miller makes these age-old texts thrum with contemporary relevance … An airy delight, a novel to be gobbled greedily in a single sitting - Observer
Enough magic, enchantment, voyages and wonders to satisfy the most jaded sword-and-sorcery palate. Miller approaches Odysseus’s story from Circe’s point of view, richly evoking her protagonist’s overlapping identities as goddess, witch, lover and mother - Adam Roberts, Guardian, Books of the Year
Circe back as superwoman … Homer’s witch get a kickass modern makeover… Miller’s Me Too-era, kickass portrait of a woman trying to defy the men and Fates arrayed against her is enchanting… Blisteringly modern - The Times
In a thrilling tour de force of imagination, Miller makes her otherworldly heroine a complex, sympathetic figure for whom we cheer throughout. Circe is a truly spellbinding novel, the mesmerising shimmer of ancient magic rising from it like a heat haze - Mail on Sunday
A brilliantly strange work of mythic science fiction, as effortlessly expressive within the palaces of gods as it is about the world below … Superb … This is both a fabulous novel and a fascinating retelling; the best compliment, perhaps, that any myth could hope for - Daily Telegraph
A triumph - The Times, Books of the Year
Circe is poised to become the literary sensation of the summer, as much for the quality of its writing as its timeliness - Sunday Times Magazine
This year’s novels were filled with the angry clamour of women’s voices: ignored, idealistic or excitingly ambivalent. Madeline Miller reflected the mood for feminist revisionism with her lissom follow-up Circe, which casts the witch goddess in the Odyssey not as a bit player in a man’s epic but as the star of her own show - Claire Allfree, Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year
It was a big year for creative retelling of myth and pre-modern literature; a favourite was Madeline Miller's Circe, a distinctive, lyrical novel about power, agency and reponsibility, from the point of view of this crafty, much-misunderstood goddess - Emily Wilson, Times Literary Supplement, Books of the Year
The writing is lovely, the tone assured, and the touch just right - Alexander McCall Smith, Independent, Books of the Year
This is a first class story with unforgettable characters,beautiful writing and brings Circe to life.
She literally takes your breath away; comes in every emotion, her vulnerability, her endless love as lover and...
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Madeline Miller is a wonderful storyteller and this novel clearly shows her skill. This rich, poetic tapestry is shot through with threads of despair and glints of hope.
Intensely engaging in more ways than one.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.
I had loved The Song of Achilles by this author and so was keen to read this book. All I knew about Circe was...
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