Circe Review

By Julianne Giordano, 2023

Published 3/22/22

If you’re on “Booktok”, the readers' section of TikTok, you’ve definitely heard of the book The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It is a phenomenal book, changing the “platonic” relationship between Patroclus and Achilles that is mentioned in Greek mythology into a meaningful romantic connection. Now, I want to bring Miller’s other book into the spotlight. Circe is a book about the goddess Circe, the witch of Aiaia, that brings to light the struggles of immortality and the experience of being an outcast.

In Greek mythology, as well as in every other culture, gods and goddesses are immortal. Circe, born from a nymph mother (goddess) and the great god of the sun, Helios, is a goddess as well as a witch. Deemed “ugly”, she becomes an outcast and longs to make lasting connections. After she does something that scares the gods, they exile her to be alone on the island of Aiaia.

The story follows Circe through her entire life, showing her experiences dealing with travelers, her siblings, and other nymphs that are sent to her island. She makes these seemingly impactful and strong connections, but then we see them become inconsequential parts of her life as she outlives everyone she's ever really cared about.

If you happened to read the Odyssey by Homer freshman year, then you’ll be familiar with characters like Daedalus, Odysseus, Circe, Telemachus, Scylla, Athena, and many more. The book explores the consequences of immortality, showing how important meaningful and lasting connections are. I’d strongly recommend that you go give it a read.