"I said nothing, and let her dance."
Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles was also reviewed here recently. Circe is her second and most recent book. She's had two short stories published but I haven't read them yet. At the time of writing she's working on a third novel which incorporates the Persephone myth.
If you've read The Song of Achilles, Circe is more of the same: Greek myth told from an alternate perspective, tragedy mixed with a sense of optimism, fatalism tempered by the idea that clever people can change their fate. Circe tells the tale of the immortal witch sentenced to life imprisonment on an island, with Circe's desire for mortal companionship proving both her undoing and her ultimate salvation.
Odysseus/Ulysses shows up about halfway through the book, and I think the author did a great job bringing both him and Circe to life. Their personal struggles feel at once immediate and faithful to the the epic poem they represent, with enough room left for each to develop in surprising ways.
I suppose the real question for most readers will be how this book compares to The Song of Achilles, the book that broke its author into the mainstream. I think I can say without equivocation that The Song of Achilles is a far superior book, but this isn't to say that Circe is by any means bad. Miller wrote her Song over a period of ten years, and if Circe feels more rushed by comparison that's to be expected. It's still a very good book, and I never felt bored by it.
Miller's as-yet-unseen third novel? Sign me up, I'll read it.
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