Circe

I never found this book a page turner, but I loved it from start to finish. Miller's writing is beautiful, and the character she turns Circe into is a wonderfully biting commentator on the affairs of gods and men alike. What she does with this story feels at once very true to the Homeric tradition--in that everything she adds is woven into the mesh of stories that previously existed--and a clearly intentional addressing of the most frustrating things about the old stories. She isn't kind to the macho man heroes of old, but does make them much more interesting, believable characters. In particular the "here's what happened after" she does to the Odyssey deals with everything I find frustrating about that story in a very effective way.

I didn't know quite what to expect when I started this book, but the narrator, Perdita Weeks, drew me into the unfolding story of a nymph who cannot find her place with her divine family. She breaks a rule, and the gods banish her to an island alone. There she must become everything for herself. The story is touching, at times violent, and ultimately heartwarming. Along the way we meet Hermes, Odysseus, Telemachus, and Penelope, as well as others. 

Weeks is a masterful narrator, bringing all the vulnerability and power to create complexity and depth in Circe. This is critical as we see the story through Circe's point of view. And what a point of view! She grew up the daughter of Helios, the sun God, whom she reverenced though he barely noticed her. It is only when she is banished that she learns who she is and what she can do. She is amazing, and I am grateful for the richness of Miller's imagination in creating her world for us to enjoy.

i really enjoyed this book... more than miller's achilles one
i think circe was a very interesting goddess and her story a very beautiful one