Welcome to Quill Quotes Book Club’s final discussion for Circe! We hope you enjoyed the book. Note, this discussion covers the full book and will contain spoilers, so if you haven’t finished reading yet you may want to go back to the Circe Book Club Summary Page for the first discussion.
Brooke’s Thoughts
I liked this book, I give it a solid 4 stars. I will admit I don’t remember much about mythology so I had no idea what would happen next. There were so many twists and turns I did not see coming. My favorite part was Circe retrieving Trygon’s poisoned tail.
Favorite Quote
“Humbling women seems to me a chief pastime of poets. As if there can be no story unless we crawl and weep.”
– Madeline Miller, Circe
Kevin’s Thoughts
I liked the second half better than the first but this book still didn’t quite do it for me. I can see what the author was going for with combining aspects from different myths for a new perspective, however, it just felt disjointed to me and was hard to read. I found myself confused at a lot of parts with which character was speaking or who we were talking about. For someone really familiar with Greek mythology, the writing style could be fun to try to guess which god or monster is being introduced but I just found it frustrating to not know what was happening until it was explained later. I did like some of the themes though, like being true to yourself. Overall, I’m somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars on Circe.
Favorite Quote
“War has always seemed to me a foolish choice for men. Whatever they win from it, they will have only a handful of years to enjoy before they die. More likely they will perish trying.”
– Madeline Miller, Circe
Vote
Sorry, this vote is now closed. The average rating was 3.5/5 stars.
Circe Final Discussion Prompts/Questions
Feel free to comment whatever thoughts and questions you have! But if you aren’t sure where to start, consider some of the prompts/questions below:
- Were you surprised Telamachus turned down Athena but Telegonus accepted?
- Did you expect a happy or sad ending? Which do you think Circe got?
- Do you think Circe’s life would have been different if she’d never encountered Prometheus? How so?
- Circe notes that so often when looking at our children “we see only the mirror of our own faults.” Do you think this is true?
- What does she see of herself in Telegonus?
- Which of Circe’s lovers do you think impacted her the most: Glaucos, Hermes, Daedalus, Odysseus, Telemachus? Do you think Telemachus was the best choice for her to grow old with or someone else?
- Share a favorite quote!
Commenting
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We hope you enjoy this discussion and join us again next month!
I had a hard time reading this book, I would have to read things over because I would lose track of what was happening. The author’s style of writing and not knowing mythology played a big part in my confusion. Some parts I did enjoy, the last few chapters I really did like, it seemed they kept my interest. I did like the ending I was glad Circe found her peace and had happiness. The great thing about this book was seeing Circe transform she stood up for herself and and made things happen for a better live for herself and others.
I had the same challenge reading this one. I think the pacing was also hard for me to get behind and engage with the characters since Circe seemed much more passive, waiting on her island for others to arrive and drive the story, instead of taking many actions herself.
The ending was good and I’m glad Circe was able to break free of her father and the gods. At the same time tho, I wish she had been able to mature and learn faster since I think she was a better match with Daedalus.
I am a little disappointed with the tangent the writer chose to go with. I was expecting to see circe master her witchcraft and come into her own. I did not expect Oddysesus to play such a huge role. However, the way Madeline wrote of Circe and her son made me grieve when he wanted to leave and worry for his safety. Overall I believe everyone got the ending they deserved. Circe is finally free of everyone’s judgements and her own self-hate. She even rose against her father. She was a wonderful mother to her kind and gentle son, something that shows that her humanity has reaped her a good reward with a great son. Something that Circe’s mother and all the other gods lacked. I am most proud of Circe’s courage and wisdom as she battles with so many things in her journey. She respects herself enough to dismiss Hermes. She has turned wiser by demanding to know Penelope’s true intentions without losing her humanity. She has grown self-reliant, strong and wise. Almost untouchable by the things that would have destroyed her the day she was exiled.
I agree, there was a little too much about Oddyseus at one point. It seemed like he was a main character instead of just a cameo.
I also think Circe got the ending she always wanted and she was happy in the end. I was actually expecting a much more tragic ending so even the ending surprised me.
Thanks for reading with us! I enjoyed seeing your thoughts and I hope you join us again soon!