Circe by Madeline Miller [Family Reads]

Posted 28 February 2026 in family reads /12 Comments

*Born out of a desire to get a family of book lovers to connect more over what they’re reading, Family Reads is an occasional feature where my mom, dad or sister and I read and discuss a book.*

Why we chose Madeline Miller’s Circe

Starting to think I should get rid of this section because it’s often the same: Mom didn’t like the book she originally picked, so we went with whatever book I was reading next. 😛 I hadn’t planned to pick up Circe but my neighbour lent me a copy and I want to be neighbourly so I was willing to give it a shot.

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child–neither 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 menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banishes her to a deserted island, where she hones her occult craft, tames wild beasts, and crosses paths with many of the most famous figures in all of mythology, including the Minotaur, Daedalus and his doomed son Icarus, the murderous Medea, and, of course, wily Odysseus.

But there is danger, too, for a woman who stands alone, and Circe unwittingly draws the wrath of both men and gods, ultimately finding herself pitted against one of the most terrifying and vengeful of the Olympians. To protect what she loves most, Circe must summon all her strength and choose, once and for all, whether she belongs with the gods she is born from or with the mortals she has come to love.
Goodreads

Our Discussion 💬

Prose

The opening line immediately pulled me in. I could tell right away I would enjoy the prose. Sparse, yet lovely and evocative and observant. Mom also enjoyed the prose. She experienced vivid mental imagery invoked by the description of Cire’s island life, ships coming in, etc.

When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist. They called me nymph, assuming I would be like my mother and aunts and thousand cousins. Least of the lesser goddesses, our powers were so modest they could scarcely ensure our eternities. We spoke to fish and nurtured flowers, coaxed drops from the clouds or salt from the waves. That word, nymph, paced out the length and breadth of our futures. In our language, it means not just goddess, but bride.
Circe, page 1

Greek Mythology Plotting

Overall, we found the plot actually kind of boring. Which in this case was not necessarily a negative thing. The story feels quiet and calmly told. Epic deeds happen mostly off page, with our protagonist largely removed from them. The prose and characterisation helped keep my interest even when the plot moved slowly. We found Circe to be a rather likeable character.

I didn’t know the original story of the Odyssey, so I was curious to see how Circe’s interactions with Odysseus would play out, and later on with Penelope and Telemachus. It was less dramatic than Isteeled myself for! I wondered if the ending matches the original lore. (Both Mom and I liked how the story ended.)

It was neat to see the various little stories of Greek mythology woven in throughout the novel. I was surprised at how many I was actually familiar with, having never read or studied Greek mythology in particular. While I may not know the details of the Odyssey, I knew the general story of almost all the characters, such as Jason and the Minotaur. Mom had a different experience. She found she didn’t have enough background knowledge of Greek mythology to sink in and enjoy the story. With so many characters being introduced that she had no referent for, she struggled with the story especially in the beginning. She thinks readers would enjoy Circe more if they have some knowledge of Greek mythology and the relationships or roles of certain gods.

She found the story more interesting once it focused on Circe living alone on her island. It takes the novel a while to get to the Odyssey parts. Mom described the story up to then as “Little House on the Prairie vibes”, by which she means lots of people coming and going. Mom reads primarily for light entertainment, so she would have preferred a shorter novel where the first half of the story is covered in a few pages to explain how Circe ends upon her island, and then jumps right into the Odyssey plot. I enjoyed the character building and place making of the first half, but Mom found a lot of it was filler and could have been left out.

Assorted Notes

Circe often seems to be lauded as a feminist retelling. We didn’t discuss that particular adjective much (‘feminist’), but I did wonder what makes the story particularly ‘feminist’, apart from simply giving voice to a woman’s perspective. Circe’s life revolves pretty heavily around men, even when she reclaims her agency. Which is not to say the presence of men disqualifies a story from being feminist… I think I should stop writing now lol. Suffice to say ‘feminist’ was not the first adjective I would use to describe this story.

I mentioned to Mom that Christopher Nolan is releasing an Odyssey film in the summer. I’d like to read the Odyssey before watching that film. I’ve placed Emily Wilson’s translation on hold. Mom and I checked out the star-studded cast. We both think Charlize Theron as Circe is a great choice.

One More Prose Exemplar

My whole life, I had waited for tragedy to find me. I never doubted that it would, for I had desires and defiance and powers more than others thought I deserved, all the things that draw the thunderstroke. A dozen times grief had scorched, but its fire had never burned through my skin. My madness in those days rose from a new certainity: that at last, I had met the thing the gods could use against me.
Circe, page 244

Final Thoughts 💭

Mom struggled with this one and doesn’t want too judge the story too harshly for her own lack of background knowledge, so she declined to give this one a rating. I gave this book ★★★★. Recommended for readers who enjoy Greek classics, of course, but you may also enjoy this one if you like quiet character studies from the perspective of a non-human.