In the vein of Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad and Ursula Le Guin’s Lavinia, Miller reframes a Greek epic from the point of view of an ancillary female character – the (minor) goddess and witch, Circe. Her telling is full of atmosphere and empathy, a deep dive into the motivations of a character who got short shrift from Homer. A good pick for readers of all types, but especially for grown-ups who went through a Greek gods phase as kids.
“Miller’s lush, gold-lit novel – told from the perspective of the witch whose name in Greek has echoes of a hawk and a weaver’s shuttle – paints another picture: of a fierce goddess who, yes, turns men into pigs, but only because they deserve it.”―NPR.org
“A retelling of ancient Greek lore gives exhilarating voice to a witch… [Circe is] a sly, petulant, and finally commanding voice that narrates the entirety of Miller’s dazzling second novel….Readers will relish following the puzzle of this unpromising daughter of the sun god Helios and his wife, Perse, who had negligible use for their child….Expect Miller’s readership to mushroom like one of Circe’s spells. Miller makes Homer pertinent to women facing 21st-century monsters.”―Kirkus, Starred Review
“The goddess of magic is excavated from ‘The Odyssey’ and given an epic of her own.”―Wall Street Journal
Find this book audio cd’s playaway
feastonbooksblog 