Circe by Madeline Miller

Madeline Miller's first retelling of a Greek classic was The Song of Achilles which told the love story of Achilles and Patroclus. A bold move for a debut novel to retell a story so well known as the Iliad. Circe continues in the same vein by presenting a modern retelling of the myths regarding the titular witch who is featured in Homer's Odyssey. It's important to note that this is not a retelling of the entirety of the Odyssey but instead Miller breathes modern life into characters who generally serve as minor characters that would easily be forgotten. Where The Song of Achilles brought a glossed over love story to the forefront, Circe brings a feminist perspective to characters from antiquity as the enchantress faces monsters that are very real and present in the 21st century.

Miller's writing is strictly prose, but the poetic roots of the story run strong and deep and if one chooses to listen to the audiobook it feels almost haunting at times. Circe's place as a powerful woman torn between divinity and mortality makes for an engaging tale that engages with questions of discrimination and violence as well as fate and free will. Though not a swashbuckling fantasy adventure or a massively complex web of perspectives, Circe is a powerful work of modern fantasy that is well worth the read and it's a relatively easy read since at under 400 pages and roughly 100,000 words it should be readable in just a couple of days, but don't rush it sitting with the psychological state of Circe and other iconic Greek figures over the course of the adventure is part of the charm of this book.