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2022 Fantasy Tournament Schedule
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FINAL ROUND: The Fifth Season vs. Circe vs. The Curse of Chalion
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What Members Thought
Circe was a bad-ass in the Odyssey. She's the witch/enchantress/daughter of Helios character exiled to an island called Aiaia. The story goes that Odysseus and his crew wind up on Aiaia and Circe refrains from turning them all into pigs (as she is wont to do), she seduces Odysseus, blah blah blah. But we only have his side of the story (through Homer), right? He's all "I was trying to get home from war and this Circe-chick was all 'Hey, man, sleeeeeep with meeeee....' - what was I supposed to do
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May 18, 2018
Viv JM
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
read-in-2018,
fiction-historical,
z2018-author-female,
feminism,
audio,
author-female,
fantasy
Woohoo, it really did live up to the hype! I loved this book. Good old fashioned storytelling, sublime use of language and the audiobook was beautifully narrated by Perdita Weeks. One of my favourite reads this year, without a doubt.
This is my second reading of this book, and I loved it as much as I loved it the first time. I should say that this is my second time listening to this book and that I might have loved it even more had I actually read it, as Madelaine Miller’s writing is very poetic and I want to savor it more.
I didn’t write a review when I first read and I now regret it. So many books later I recall the enjoyment of the story telling and what I perceived at the time as being a very feminist book, an anti-patri ...more
I didn’t write a review when I first read and I now regret it. So many books later I recall the enjoyment of the story telling and what I perceived at the time as being a very feminist book, an anti-patri ...more
After reading and enjoying Madeline Miller’s short story Galatea, I decided to try her full-length novels. I chose Circe because the central figure is a woman (goddess), and I am very impressed. This is the most compelling feminist retelling of Greek mythology I have read—lyrical, imaginative, and profoundly human. Coming to the novel knowing little about Circe except her role in The Odyssey, I find Miller’s version vivid and persuasive. It is going to be the definitive version of Circe in my mi
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4 1/2 stars. I know next to nothing about the classical myths so I've probably missed all kinds of themes and allusions, but the book still had lots to say to me. The language made this mythical past feel both distant and immediate for me - she writes relatively simple, direct sentences that have a kind of stateliness about them too. Here's a quote that I think illustrates that, and also gives an idea of how fascinating a character Circe is and the depths of her struggles to understand herself a
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This is the second book I have read by this author. Both books were GR group selections; I would not have picked them up on my own. Miller retells stories from the ancient Greek epics through the voice of a minor character. In this one, it is a relatively insignificant nymph who is exiled by the gods to a beautiful but isolated island. Daughter of the powerful sun god, Circe has the ability to alter the appearance of creatures and landscapes, to weave protective spells and to concoct healing and
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I enjoy a retelling because, good or bad, it gives another dimension or perspective to the original story. A retelling can make us think about another side to a story; adding to the whole.
Circe does just that. It tells us Circe's story from her point of view. Her childhood, disappointments, how her banishment came to be and how she spent her banishment before and after the time of Odysseus' visit.
While slow at times, the story is fascinating at times, too, and overall gave us a story of a stro ...more
Circe does just that. It tells us Circe's story from her point of view. Her childhood, disappointments, how her banishment came to be and how she spent her banishment before and after the time of Odysseus' visit.
While slow at times, the story is fascinating at times, too, and overall gave us a story of a stro ...more
Pure storytelling magic.
There's a lot more to Circe than I knew from The Odyssey; I thought she was just a witch who enjoyed turning men into pigs. But she did a lot more stuff, including creating the six-headed monster Scylla and a bunch of other stuff that I'd rather not spoil. But now, for the first time ever, thanks to Madeline Miller, she has EMOTIONS and PSYCHOLOGY and MOTIVATIONS!
Miller doesn't invent a whole lot. She takes the framework of the Greek myths and fills in all the gaps to just make it make sense, an ...more
Miller doesn't invent a whole lot. She takes the framework of the Greek myths and fills in all the gaps to just make it make sense, an ...more
What a great book! I was not really big fan of mythology during my high school years. In fact, I used to dread having to learn about all of the different gods, goddesses, Olympians, etc. However, Miller has found a way in which to tell these stories in a way that is captivating, thoughtful and heart-wrenching. She weaves an epic tale filled with intrigue, magic and revenge of which I couldn't get enough. I was disappointed when I finished the story today. I'm thinking that I may need to finally
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A fun listen. Well written. Excellent narration. I was slightly bereft when it ended as I wasn’t ready to leave that world. A great first book of the year. Loved the female perspective angle. I think I enjoyed the humanizing of Odysseus—that he wasn’t just this hero warrior pining for his hearth and home. I liked being able to identify as a mother, the lengths and breadths one would go to protect her child and the despair when one realizes how little she can control. If all Greek myths were this
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Fully satisfying, great storytelling. I'm about to start a mythology theme focus next year, and this is a perfect introduction - personalized and relatable Titans and Olympians. I am glad I'd already read The Odyssey, but it isn't necessary for this book. I would love to see this made into a movie.
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Carol was right - this was a great gym listen.
May 11, 2022
Lori
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
z-reviewed,
z-read-2022,
fiction,
fantasy,
literature,
roundtable,
historical,
rt-book-read
I liked the telling of the story. I do not know how closely the story sticks to prior myths, but it felt right.
3 to 4 stars very good, definitely worth reading
3 to 4 stars very good, definitely worth reading
Mar 02, 2019
Kai Coates
marked it as to-read
Feb 06, 2022
Dawn
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
historical-fiction,
audiobook
Jan 20, 2019
Jennifer
marked it as to-read
Jul 11, 2017
Gill
marked it as to-read
