Who recommended Circe?

6 people have recommended Circe in the interviews, articles and reading lists we track, including Sophie Bakalar, Gretchen Rubin, Shauna Niequist and Glen Mazzara. Each name links to their full reading list.

Is Circe worth reading?

6 people we track recommend it. It is best for: a high-school literature teacher prepping a unit on myth who wants a readable, single-voice retelling to spark class discussion — because it humanizes a familiar figure and supplies accessible scenes to analyze; an urban professional planning a long flight or vacation read who enjoys luxuriant prose and sustained interior voice — because the novel rewards slow, immersive reading rather than quick skimming; a fiction writer studying sustained first-person perspective who needs an example of voice, pacing, and how to carry a single character through decades of change — because the book is a long exercise in intimate narration. It may not suit: annoying if you prefer plot-forward, fast-paced fantasy — the narrative often prioritizes interior reflection over forward momentum; you'll likely put it down when the middle sections settle into extended meditative passages and repeated thematic refrains rather than new external events; annoying if you wanted a faithful, action-heavy myth retelling or practical/interactive materials — this is a novel, not a how-to or activity-based book, and it offers no hands-on exercises.

What books are like Circe?

Readers of Circe also turn to 11/22/63, A Thousand Ships and The Song of Achilles, based on the lists and recommenders these books share.

Circe by Madeline Miller: Recommended by 6 People

Name: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child?not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power?the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and...