August 9, 2021

I need to get back to doing these regularly. I think they help me mentally. My mentality. Oh the humanity. 

Going straight into Blog because without doing these every morning, I get behind on Mlog/Blog. And I really like Mlog/Blog. It helps me pay attention and remember what I'm reading and watching. 

Blog Time! 

Miller, Madeline – CIRCE 

Published: 2018

Read: 8/2021

Circe spans the story of Prometheus, Dedalus, the Minotaur, Jason and the Argonauts, and the Odyssey all from the perspective of Circe, the immortal sea witch. She’s the unloved daughter of the sun god, Helios. She’s not quite beautiful enough, not powerful enough. That is until she realizes that, along with her sister and two brothers, she’s a Pharmicus (sp? I listened to it), a witch. She has a tough time around the other gods. She prefers her interactions with mortals. She’s exiled to the island of Aiaia because she turned her human lover Glaucus to a god and her rival nymph Silla to a sea monster. Later, on the island, she welcomes in sailors into her home, feeds them, and then turns them into pigs because they’re there to rape and rob her (figuring as a woman alone, she’s easy pickings). Basically a lot happens, and in the end she marries Odysseus’ and Penelope’s son and becomes a mortal.  

I have condensed the summary because I’m behind on writing this Blog post, and I want to make sure I actually finish it. Circe had been on my list for a few years and I hadn’t started it because I felt… nervous? I was worried it would be tough to get into, but when I actually started it this time, it wasn’t hard at all. I liked how Circe (the character) wasn’t great at everything. Although a goddess, she wasn’t some dazzling perfect protagonist. She was a loser at court – even from birth – because she didn’t have much power and her cheekbones weren’t quite perfect (or something like that), despite having the sun as her father. The book does a great job at depicting the squabbling shallowness of the gods while still illustrating their beauty and power. I liked the study of the mortals. How Circe’s power comes through witchcraft which requires toil, trial and error, something that gods can’t stand. Everything comes easy to them. They wish it and it is so. But mortals work and toil. They are the ones who become the craftsmen. Circe’s magic – her gardening and her spells – is her craft, and although it’s inconvenient and potentially haphazard, requiring specific ingredients, circumstances, planning and forethought, she’s able to do things even the greater gods cannot. It was great! 

Rating: ★★★1/2