Sumer Reading Series: Fiction
Circe by Madeline Miller
This book is a reimagination of the life of a minor Greek goddess from Homer’s Odyssey.
The protagonist is portrayed as a complex, deeply human character who is exiled by the Titans to an island, where she hones her skills in witchcraft and encounters legendary figures like Odysseus, the Minotaur, and Medea.
Miller weaves together multiple Greek myths into one cohesive narrative while exploring timeless themes of family trauma, self-discovery, and what it means to choose mortality over immortality.
The most intriguing aspect may be how Circe grapples with her divine nature.
She’s portrayed not as an all-powerful deity, but as someone learning to navigate relationships, motherhood, and her own agency in a world dominated by capricious male gods, while she gradually transforms from a marginalized immortal into a powerful, self-aware woman.
-Susan