Most people, if they have heard of Circe at all, recognize her only as the enchantress who turned Odysseus' men to pigs. But the goddess comes alive here in a movingly-written novel that ranges through the time of the Titans and Olympians, and shows a young woman who finds her strength in the challenges she faces.
Firstborn of the sun-god Helios and the nymph Perse, Circe hardly seemed worth notice -- a plain child, goddess-by-heritage, but not exhibiting any particular beauty or cleverness. What she had was the misfortune to fall in love with a mortal, and to discover her talent -- the ability to change things to reveal their true nature -- in an attempt to make him into a god and therefore a worthy mate.
Banished by her father to a remote island, she might have lived through the millennia without further notice, but her island seemed a beacon for wandering sailors -- among them the fabled Odysseus and his ill-fated crew.
The novel traces Circe's growth as a woman of power and as the member of the pantheon, but it is her internal changes and growing understanding that makes it come alive. As she both grows in power and begins to understand the true cost of the decisions she makes, she becomes an ever more complex and appealing character.
Peopled with figures from Prometheus to Penelope, lyrically written and utterly enchanting, Circe is a novel to immerse oneself in -- and perhaps to emerge changed into a reflection of one's true nature.
Firstborn of the sun-god Helios and the nymph Perse, Circe hardly seemed worth notice -- a plain child, goddess-by-heritage, but not exhibiting any particular beauty or cleverness. What she had was the misfortune to fall in love with a mortal, and to discover her talent -- the ability to change things to reveal their true nature -- in an attempt to make him into a god and therefore a worthy mate.
Banished by her father to a remote island, she might have lived through the millennia without further notice, but her island seemed a beacon for wandering sailors -- among them the fabled Odysseus and his ill-fated crew.
The novel traces Circe's growth as a woman of power and as the member of the pantheon, but it is her internal changes and growing understanding that makes it come alive. As she both grows in power and begins to understand the true cost of the decisions she makes, she becomes an ever more complex and appealing character.
Peopled with figures from Prometheus to Penelope, lyrically written and utterly enchanting, Circe is a novel to immerse oneself in -- and perhaps to emerge changed into a reflection of one's true nature.
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