The Curse of Immortality

I was definitely interested in Circe by Madeline Miller, like many people I had an interest in Greek mythology. The language of this book was hard for me to really get into though, so I opted for the audiobook. This is my first audiobook review and I highly recommend books like this as audiobooks. Being able to hear it really made this more enjoyable and gave this a movie like quality. I have to say if the narrator was bad, I would not be able to listen to them for twelve hours either so hopefully as I continue my audible journey that issue doesn’t arise. This story introduces us to Circe, daughter of Helios who is god of the sun. She is a goddess of no great importance, mild beauty, and quiet nature. She takes you on an epic journey through thousands of years of her life. Circe is completely naive at first and I got extremely annoyed with her for a while. Over and over she makes mistakes that you just want to shake her and say what are you doing! Eventually she starts to learn and grow from her mistakes and misplaced trust. After heartbreak on top of heartbreak Circe is finally a character that learns to look out and stand up for herself. The array of characters in Circe’s story is captivating. Whenever one character leaves it is not long until another comes to take their place and it makes you feel like you’re hearing an entirely new story. Circe’s life is complicated yet very simple and the troubles she endures will make you wonder if being a god or goddess is really something you should want. Listening to this story really has you feel like you’ve endured thousands of years with Circe. I enjoyed the reader of this book; she is exactly how I would picture Circe to sound. This story had me sitting in my parked car after I reached my destination because I had to know what happens. As far as audiobooks go this is only the second one, I have ever listened to and I can say after this one I will be listening to more.

Favorite quotes – “I would say, some people are like constellations that only touch the earth for a season.” 

“He was another knife I could feel it. A different sort, but a knife still. I did not care. I thought: give me the blade. Some things are worth spilling blood for.” 

“How many of us would be granted pardon if our true hearts were known?”