Circe - Madeline Miller | Mythology, Witchcraft, & Feminism

Рет қаралды 14,916

6 жыл бұрын

This video is a review of Circe by Madeline Miller, her second Greek myth retelling after The Song of Achilles.
Books mentioned:
Circe - Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter - JK Rowling
Macbeth - Shakespeare
Email: kathrynshaldane@gmail.com

Пікірлер: 40

@jennisrandom42 6 жыл бұрын

I just read this a few days ago and I found it so engrossing I finished it in two days. I loved revisiting the myths in this fashion. I think it’s quite amazing how much emotional depth and how many themes she was able to explore without making it feel too busy.

@TheReadersAthenaeum 6 жыл бұрын

I completely agree! :)

@JordanHarveybooks 5 жыл бұрын

Love your commentary on the book! I adored this book, and I was floored by how well she was able to compile all of Circe's myths into a compelling story.

@PullDownTheMoon 6 жыл бұрын

It's interesting that you described Circe as a headstrong female in this - I didn't get that impression at all! Going into this I knew nothing about Circe but halfway through the book I decided to look into her and found the material out there to suggest she was beautiful and quite the badass and fierce but I feel the book paints her to be weak. Even the pig's thing for me because it was a reaction, I felt it was because she was scared (although rightly so). Even when I read interviews from Miller about her I'm very confused. It was good to learn about Circe though - I enjoyed her story but it was no Song of Achilles for me. But it was spectacular - she's my first step into myth retelling and she has me itching to read more!

@TheReadersAthenaeum 6 жыл бұрын

That's interesting! I think the book definitely portrayed her as being very fallible and with failings and weaknesses, but ultimately I thought that she stood her ground and showed huge courage in the face of so many adversities, and I think I respected that more than if she had been 100% badass with no unlikeable traits. I do agree that Miller's writing makes me want to read lots more myth retellings :)

@hmac6086 5 жыл бұрын

She did many things out of fear, but she she took them head on. This was certainly not the case throughout, but was part of her (wry long arc). Athena, Trygon, Helios- she handles them all!

@catherine.marial 2 жыл бұрын

Being a victim of assault in the past doesn't make you weak, Circe literally fights and wins a duel against an Olympian- how is she not strong?

@laracroft1829 6 жыл бұрын

I plan to reread the Odyssey this month and then I will definitely read Circe. Myth retellings have motivated me to read or re read the classics. Thanks for another great video.

@TheReadersAthenaeum 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks for commenting, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :) It's definitely something I plan to do more too - reading the classics alongside newer retellings.

@laracroft1829 6 жыл бұрын

The Reader's Athenaeum I know there are critics out there who feel that writing retellings shows lack of originality or creativity, but for me these types of books invite me to try to see new perspectives in old stories.

@unstewed 5 жыл бұрын

Just discovered your Channel and ordered Circe based on your excellent review. I'm very interested in feminist retellings of Witches in mythology and how they changed through the years. Looking forward to exploring your literary world.

@elizabethsaunders9640 5 жыл бұрын

This looks brilliant! My copy just arrived and I can't wait to read it.

@nieve_vi 4 жыл бұрын

I love myths and folklore and I’d seen the popularity this book has in this community before but for some reason never really took an interest! Now I definitely want to read it, so thanks for the great review 😄💕

@rowantame2533 6 жыл бұрын

Great review, I loved the book, about to try one of her earlier works, Galatea, about the subject of the Pygmalion story.

@booklover7019 6 жыл бұрын

Insightful review! You are a lovely person and have a pleasant speaking voice. I’m glad I discovered your channel.

@TheReadersAthenaeum 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you, that is very kind! :)

@nonono6537 6 жыл бұрын

Great review!! I went to a talk Miller did at my university and she was lovely. I devoured The Song of Achilles so definitely going to read this soon!

@v.dargain1678 7 ай бұрын

Lucky you . I would love to have her sign my first edition CIRCE book .

@Robert.Sheard 6 жыл бұрын

I picked up both of Miller’s books. Can’t wait to get to them both.

@OuijaWitch4640 4 жыл бұрын

Just so happen to come across circe on a video after searching for hekate and came across your video. Never knew about this book but will search for this one and definitely buy it. Very interesting. 👌

@rossyer 2 жыл бұрын

Great video, loved the book!

@dr.laurafreshman3498 6 жыл бұрын

Read both this past two weeks. Glorious and absorbing and probably will rank top ŕeads 2018!

@john-alanpascoe5848 6 жыл бұрын

The song of Achilles and Circe are rapidly climbing to the top of my ‘want to read’ list, but I need to work my current TBR pile down a bit first. I think the stereotype of witches as hags is a relatively (to the age of Greek myth) recent view, dating from Macbeth and the witchcraft trials of that era. While I don’t know if Greeks had a particularly positive view of witches, the famous ones like Medea and Circe were powerful, young (or immortal) women, who derived their power from knowledge of herbs and perhaps some divine help (e.g. from Hekate, goddess of witchcraft). Also, as a academic myself (though not in the humanities), I’d disagree that writing is a side-job. Fictional writing maybe, but a big part of an academic’s job involves the written communication of their scholarship / research, so you end up doing quite a lot of writing, albeit not in a style you’d want to read in a novel :).

@TheReadersAthenaeum 6 жыл бұрын

I don't know a great deal about ancient ideas of witchcraft - I wrote my undergraduate dissertation on witchcraft in Shakespeare but have to admit not knowing about views towards witches from earlier in history. Although, when I read The Odyssey, I very much got the impression that Circe was viewed as threatening because of her power over men, and she was therefore portrayed in quite negative terms. I'm definitely not a classicist but that was my impression from reading it. In terms of writing, I think I maybe just didn't express myself clearly - I know that academia is about a lot of writing, and there is huge skill in academic writing, but it is usually very different to fiction, which is why I was expecting a different tone from this book. It was maybe unfair of me to have lesser expectations of her fictional writing skill, but I was very impressed because I found her writing more skillful than a lot of full-time career authors.

@john-alanpascoe5848 6 жыл бұрын

The Reader's Athenaeum Sorry, maybe I was being a bit too pedantic in my comment. You’re definitely right about academic writing being different to fiction writing. The Greeks had a pretty dim view on women in general, so that probably carried over to their view on witches, but I don’t think the old hag part of the modern stereotype was present. Your dissertation sounds really fascinating!

@bighardbooks770 5 жыл бұрын

@@TheReadersAthenaeum How interesting.

@aeon9311 6 жыл бұрын

I had preordered this book but I had to cancel due to being overwhelmed by my TBR. Now, I’m thinking I shouldn’t have. It sounds interesting and the design is gorgeous.

@TheReadersAthenaeum 6 жыл бұрын

I don't want to be a devil's advocate but this book is so worth reading. :)

@Aman-jk8vr 2 жыл бұрын

You are gorgeous, can't get my eyes off you. 💗

@Liz86000 6 жыл бұрын

I loved this review. I got this book for my birthday a few days ago and I can't wait to read it. By the way, when you talk about Odysseus, you do mean Ulysses ? It's the same name ?

@john-alanpascoe5848 6 жыл бұрын

Liz86000 Odysseus is the Greek spelling, Ulysses is the Latin / Roman spelling. It’s the same person in either case.

@ipshitajee 3 жыл бұрын

I really love the book too

@earlenehurst5714 4 жыл бұрын

I named my daughter Circe

@Loekaslol 4 жыл бұрын

I love the booc but. Am i the only one who thinks miller jumps from topic to topic to quickly and that it is had to understand who is saying what

@spottheturtle9568 4 жыл бұрын

If you are into audiobooks, skip this one. Buy it in print! The narration is terrible imo. She reads far too quickly. I even tried adjusting to a slower speed and it hardly seemed to help at all.