Madeline Miller, an American novelist, is the author of ‘The Song of Achilles’ and ‘Circe’—retellings of Greek mythologies—both of which have been bestsellers and critically acclaimed as well. Miller spent 10 years writing The Song of Achilles while she was a teacher of Greek and Latin. It’s rated 4.37 on Good Reads. I gave it a straight-up five stars. All my friends, who have read the book, love it. We still talk about it wistfully. I have yet to meet someone who has anything bad to say about the book. Circe, on the other hand, has got mixed reviews. People have either hated it or they have loved it. Unlike with The Song of Achilles, there is no in-between. I put off reading Circe for a long time, even when my best friend was adamant that I read it straight away after she had finished. She even wanted to loan me her copy as I wasn’t very enthused about the cover of mine and she’s not someone who shares her books. It was that good, she said. Having read it now, I have to agree with her even while she smirks and tells me I should listen to her more often. Circe, which came out in 2018, tells the story of the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, in a refreshing light. Here, Circe isn’t just a figure with uncertain powers or a witch. The first-person narrative format that Miller has decided to stick to in this book too gives Circe a powerful voice, allowing her to tell her story in a way that’s never been told before.

For those of us familiar with the mythology, we know Circe has had a somewhat traumatic childhood.  She’s the eldest and least cherished of Perse’s children by Helios. She is mocked for her shrill voice and lack of godly powers. She is exiled to Aiaia for her use of witchcraft to turn nymph Scylla into a sea monster that will terrorize sailors for generations. She does this when Glaucos, whom she is in love with and turns into a god, spurns her for Scylla. It is here, on Aiaia, that Odysseus finds her.

The Song of Achilles presented the homosexual love story of the Ilaid and Circe is the feminist side of the Odyssey. Here, we don’t fault her actions as much as listen to the reasonings behind them. Though there have been criticisms about historical inaccuracies in both of Miller’s books, there’s no denying that Miller has once again made these stories widely popular. Circe is an empowering book that finally does justice to a female character that was once portrayed as weak by male narrators. Fiction/Mythology Circe Madeline Miller Published: 2018 Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Pages: 336, Paperback