Traveling in time to Ancient Greece | The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

As I was reading «The Song of Achilles» I couldn’t help myself but compare this book to «Circe» also by Madeline Miller. Both of them follow a famous figure from Greek mythology, both a very heavy influenced by Ancient Greece, and both are told in a very beautiful way. While «The Song of Achilles» was a fairly quick read (in comparison to «Circe» which took me over a month), I feel like I will forget it just as quickly.

It might be due to the fact that this was an epic love story, or maybe because none of the characters in this book sparked love or even admiration in me. «Circe», on the other hand, is the book that will stay with me for a long time. I read it in July of last year and I still remember how it made me feel, I still think about it from time to time.

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5 Reasons why you should read «Circe» by Madeline Miller!

My first meeting with Circe, the enchantress or the goddess of magic, was at school when we had to read Homer’s Odyssey. The story of his visit to the Isle of Aiaia was one of our discussion topics and we saw how the powerful goddess Circe fell victim of Oddysey’s (and gods’) treacherous plan. 

Since then I haven’t read anything else about Circe, until Madeleine Miller’s book. And I’m so glad that I purchased her book! Madeleine Miller has a true gift, and it’s not just the beautiful seamless writing, but the ability to bring the well-known character to life again and in a different light, give Circe the truly powerful story of a goddess but also a woman who loved, who fought and who lived.