“The thought was this: that all my life had been murk and depths, but I was not a part of that dark water. I was a creature within it.”

2020 is blessing me with some truly beautiful books

quick thoughts : 4.5 stars

• An author's writing style makes or breaks a book for me; it's integral to my overall enjoyment, so it says a lot that I immediately wanted to read everything and anything Madeline Miller ever penned. Her writing was gorgeous, so lush and poetic and haunting. I highlighted almost every single page. It drew me in and felt like reading the original Odyssey: a fairytale, an epic poem being recounted to me as a bedtime story.
• I couldn’t but thinking of Taylor Jenkins Reid. Miller has a similar way of writing a story you know is a fictional biography but making them feel so vivid and real, it’s a shock to close the book and be pulled out of the story, realising you weren’t watching a documentary or experiencing the life of a real person. Combine that feeling with Katherine Arden’s way of making the unreal feel not just possible but unequivocally truthful, and her way with creating a setting that feels like a person, and you have this gem.
• It was a little slow though, and I was scared of getting bored the whole time… without actually getting bored? I didn’t know where the story was going to go and I wish it had more structure... but even I don’t know what that really means or would have looked like. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I did leave this wanting a little something more but I have no idea what the fuck that actually is??
• I just adored Circe. This was a book about motherhood and learning that family is the family you choose, not your blood. The mistakes and flaws of your blood aren’t you own. You get to make your way. It was so hopeful.
• The nods to the other figures from greek mythology were like cameos in your favourite tv show. I don’t know how true to the myths and history Madeline Miller stood because I’m not too familiar with Circe outside of The Odyssey but I loved how real she made it feel
• I also realllllllly loved the depiction of Odysseus and Telemachus. The feminist take and emphasis on how heroic men are depicted in myth (especially compared to the women) were just so. damn. good!
• overall, how soon is too soon to reread this masterpiece?

➸ Trigger warnings for

ableist language, rape (op), rape by coercion (recounted & discussed), incest mentioned, emotional, verbal & physical abuse, child abuse, cheating, arranged & forced marriage, nightmares, ptsd (sc), suicide recounted, suicidal ideation, self-harm, alchol consumption, drugging w/o consent, graphic caesarean childbirth (op), childbirth (op), pregnancy (op & discussed), blood & gore depiction, chronic pain mentioned, dead bodies, grief depiction, death of a sibling, death of a husband, death of a father, murder, torture, whipping, death by drowning mentioned, death by a fall, war themes, animal death (op), animal sacrifice, poverty themes mentioned and bestiality mentioned & recounted

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