#4 in Myths & legends
Circe
- 408
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- NYT bestseller · 3 weeks on the list, peaked at #8
- Athenaeum Literary Award
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Our view
“Circe” retells Greek myth in the witch’s own voice and stays close to her while famous figures, from Hermes to Odysseus, pass through her story. The prose is striking and gives even quiet scenes an epic weight without losing intimacy. Readers who know the myths get the pleasure of recognition, but the book stands on its own as the portrait of one life, more reflective than fast.
Worth knowing Madeline Miller, who taught Latin and Greek, gives the witch of Homer’s Odyssey her own life story, told in the first person across centuries, from her childhood among the Titans to the arrival of Odysseus and beyond. It came out in April 2018, seven years after The Song of Achilles, and can be read without that book or any knowledge of the myths. The episode from the Odyssey is only one part of it.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Circe is a 2018 mythic fantasy novel by American writer Madeline Miller. Set during the Greek Heroic Age, it is an original reimagining of various Greek myths, most notably the Odyssey, as told from the perspective of the witch Circe. While drawing on characters and episodes from ancient myths, the novel invents or substantially reinterprets many aspects of Circe's biography, including Circe's encounters with mythological figures such as Hermes, the Minotaur, Jason, and Medea and ultimately, her romance with Odysseus and his son Telemachus.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 8.4 across 3,082 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 95% of the weight and the score stays at 8.4 — the Myths & legends average of 8.2 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 8.3 | 109 | 4% |
| Hardcover | 8.4 | 3K | 97% |
Frequently asked
How long is Circe?
It has 408 pages — shorter than 75% of the ranked books in Myths & legends.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Myths & legends — with scores between 7.9 and 8.5, closest to this book.
