CIRCE : A WITCH OR A GODDESS?

Author : Madeline Miller

           "When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist."

Circe is easily one of the most hyped books of 2018. I picked this book because

a) I am very interested in Greek mythology

b) Because everyone was reading it

I have to be honest I have heard and read a lot of negative and positive reviews about this book so it all came down to what I felt when I read it.

The book maps the journey of Circe, daughter of Helios, a mighty Titan . We are introduced to Circe as soon as she is born, she hasn't discovered who she is and neither has the reader, we follow all her emotions, victory, loses, and especially the time when she finds out that she is a witch and is exiled for reasons you'll get to know when you read it.

The storytelling is effortless, each scene drifts into another so smoothly that we don't even realise it. A lot of Greek myths keep making an appearance regularly giving the reader a different point of view for that particular myth and it completely amazed me.

I'll be honest, one has to have basic knowledge of Greek mythology before one picks up this book because otherwise you won't understand the importance of a lot of characters making an appearance regularly. Although, Miller, does her best in introducing the character there and then itself but still a prior knowledge will help you a lot.

This book is no way related to the first book by the author so you can easily pick this one up. This book is captivating from the very first page, I was easily enraptured and that too till the end. This was one of those books which I didn't want to end, I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. There were so many emotions which Circe potrayed, that I could relate to, even today. There were some moments where I felt like Miller while writing about Circe, who just had a mention in The Odyssey also wrote about feminism through her. Some examples of that are these lines :

"It is a common saying that women are delicate creatures--flowers,egg,anything that may be crushed in a moment's carelessness. If I had ever believed it, I no longer did."

" 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."

In a nutshell,this book is not a re-telling, but the story of the origin of Circe. It has everything a reader could ask for, from a protagonist who underestimates herself but realises her power later to every bit of drama and power.  At the end all I would like to say to you is that, pick up this book and decide for yourself who Circe was.

My Verdict- 5/5