Circe
2018 · Madeline Miller · 400 pages · Fantasy
Madeline Miller's retelling of Circe's story transforms a minor mythological figure into a fully realized woman whose journey from powerless nymph to self-determined witch feels both ancient and thoroughly modern. The prose is gorgeous without being heavy, and Miller's command of Greek mythology gives every scene the weight of something that has been told before but never quite like this. The episodic structure can make the middle section feel scattered, and readers looking for fast-paced plotting will need to adjust their expectations. But as a portrait of a woman building a life on her own terms in a world run by capricious gods, it's one of the best mythological retellings in recent memory.