Circe
by Madeline Miller
3 more
More Recommenders
“.@MillerMadeline's CIRCE is one of the best books I've ever read. Wow. Just wow. | Good morning?sending love & prayers & another booklist from our little quarantine corner to yours. What recent fiction have you loved (FYI: the next couple lists are memoir, food writing, faith writing, & books about writing/creativity...what other categories should we do) | Halfway through. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a fiction book to finish out the year. Think I may try to fit in a history book before 2020. Any recommendations | What a great week of reading. Several outstanding books. What are you reading #GretchenRubinReads @wwnorton @nyrbclassics @stephanmlee @MillerMadeline @littlebrown @NewDirections @WmMorrowBooks”
Source →“.@MillerMadeline's CIRCE is one of the best books I've ever read. Wow. Just wow. | Good morning?sending love & prayers & another booklist from our little quarantine corner to yours. What recent fiction have you loved (FYI: the next couple lists are memoir, food writing, faith writing, & books about writing/creativity...what other categories should we do) | Halfway through. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a fiction book to finish out the year. Think I may try to fit in a history book before 2020. Any recommendations | What a great week of reading. Several outstanding books. What are you reading #GretchenRubinReads @wwnorton @nyrbclassics @stephanmlee @MillerMadeline @littlebrown @NewDirections @WmMorrowBooks”
Source →“.@MillerMadeline's CIRCE is one of the best books I've ever read. Wow. Just wow. | Good morning?sending love & prayers & another booklist from our little quarantine corner to yours. What recent fiction have you loved (FYI: the next couple lists are memoir, food writing, faith writing, & books about writing/creativity...what other categories should we do) | Halfway through. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a fiction book to finish out the year. Think I may try to fit in a history book before 2020. Any recommendations | What a great week of reading. Several outstanding books. What are you reading #GretchenRubinReads @wwnorton @nyrbclassics @stephanmlee @MillerMadeline @littlebrown @NewDirections @WmMorrowBooks”
Source →Recommended by 5 notable people, including Sophie Bakalar and Gretchen Rubin
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Reading Profile
Should I read this?
Lyrical, first-person retelling follows Circe from a gilded childhood among gods to long exile among mortals, trading spectacle for close psychological and sensory detail. Best as an immersive character study: it enlarges a sidelined mythic figure into a fully voiced life and lingers on desire, power, and loneliness. Limiting when you want taut plotting or variety of viewpoint — long descriptive passages and repeated thematic turns can feel indulgent, and some dramatic episodes are summarized rather than fully staged.
Read this if...
- •a high-school literature teacher prepping a unit on myth who wants a readable, single-voice retelling to spark class discussion — because it humanizes a familiar figure and supplies accessible scenes to analyze
- •an urban professional planning a long flight or vacation read who enjoys luxuriant prose and sustained interior voice — because the novel rewards slow, immersive reading rather than quick skimming
- •a fiction writer studying sustained first-person perspective who needs an example of voice, pacing, and how to carry a single character through decades of change — because the book is a long exercise in intimate narration
Skip this if...
- •annoying if you prefer plot-forward, fast-paced fantasy — the narrative often prioritizes interior reflection over forward momentum
- •you'll likely put it down when the middle sections settle into extended meditative passages and repeated thematic refrains rather than new external events
- •annoying if you wanted a faithful, action-heavy myth retelling or practical/interactive materials — this is a novel, not a how-to or activity-based book, and it offers no hands-on exercises
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child?not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power?the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and...
Before You Buy
Reading Specifications
Difficulty:hard
Audience Fit
- a high-school literature teacher prepping a unit on myth who wants a readable, single-voice retelling to spark class discussion — because it humanizes a familiar figure and supplies accessible scenes to analyze
- an urban professional planning a long flight or vacation read who enjoys luxuriant prose and sustained interior voice — because the novel rewards slow, immersive reading rather than quick skimming
- a fiction writer studying sustained first-person perspective who needs an example of voice, pacing, and how to carry a single character through decades of change — because the book is a long exercise in intimate narration
- annoying if you prefer plot-forward, fast-paced fantasy — the narrative often prioritizes interior reflection over forward momentum
- you'll likely put it down when the middle sections settle into extended meditative passages and repeated thematic refrains rather than new external events
- annoying if you wanted a faithful, action-heavy myth retelling or practical/interactive materials — this is a novel, not a how-to or activity-based book, and it offers no hands-on exercises
Check formats, pricing, and availability options for Kindle, physical print, or audiobooks directly.
View available editions on AmazonKey themes
Why recommended
Recommended by 7 sources and appears in Mythology, Greek Mythology, and Feminist.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
Recommendation proof is sourced from public posts, interviews, reading lists, and cited references.
Shauna Niequist
“.@MillerMadeline's CIRCE is one of the best books I've ever read. Wow. Just wow. | Good morning?sending love & prayers & another booklist from our little quarantine corner to yours. What recent fiction have you loved (FYI: the next couple lists are memoir, food writing, faith writing, & books about writing/creativity...what other categories should we do) | Halfway through. Highly recommended if you’re looking for a fiction book to finish out the year. Think I may try to fit in a history book before 2020. Any recommendations | What a great week of reading. Several outstanding books. What are you reading #GretchenRubinReads @wwnorton @nyrbclassics @stephanmlee @MillerMadeline @littlebrown @NewDirections @WmMorrowBooks”
View sources (4) ▾80%
Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Recommended by 4 sources.
“Starts as a lean, suspenseful time-travel premise that quickly settles into an immersive, character-focused saga. Its chief useful part is the way everyday 1960s small-town life and personal relationships make the historical stakes feel immediate; the novel rewards readers who relish atmosphere and slow moral puzzles. The main limitation is length and digressions—long domestic passages and episodic subplots stretch the middle and can undercut urgency for readers who wanted a tighter thriller.”
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How recommendation signals are reviewed
Each recommendation is collected from a public source — interviews, articles, or curated lists — and linked to its original URL. Books with many verifiable recommendations from respected people rank higher.