Circe is a fictionalization of the life of the eponymous Greek goddess. It’s something of a feminist revision of Greek myth, an attempt to retell the goddess’s story through her own eyes rather than through the story of Daedalus, Jason, or Odysseus. The book follows her from her origins as the daughter of Helios, through her exile to a deserted island, and finally to a decision that may transform her life forever.

A key theme of this book is eternity and mortality, and the odd relationship that the gods have with both concepts. The Greek gods are immortal; they need not fear death or even aging, and any injuries they suffer heal themselves soon enough. As a consequence their time horizons are eternal - they do not think in terms of years or decades, and even centuries and eons are irrelevant to them. Most of the events of the book take place hundreds or perhaps thousands of years after Circe’s birth, and yet she appears to the humans in the story as though she is a young woman. But this sort of life is not always as pleasant as it first appears, especially for a goddess who feels she does not quite belong in the company of other gods. She can’t seem to stand life in her father’s court, and she is drawn instead to mortals, or the rebellious gods who seem to love them, like Prometheus. His story is the one which opens our eyes to the horror of eternity. When he gives humans the gift of fire, he receives a horrifying punishment - which he will suffer every single day for the rest of eternity. A similar, though less horrifying, fate ultimately awaits Circe. Through her story we see just how oppressive immortality can be, particularly when those around you are not immortal.

The retelling of Circe’s story is gripping and fascinating, especially considering how other-worldly the setting is. The author makes a few assumptions about how much the reader already knows about Greek myth, and these assumptions can be a little annoying even for someone who has a working knowledge of the requisite background. Those moments are on the whole few and far between, however. Ultimately this story boils down to a series of love stories, none of which are particularly scandalous by the standards of Greek myth. Structuring the story of Circe along these lines is a little bit of a disappointment, at least by the standards of feminist revisionism. That said, Circe is certainly her own woman through and through, and once she escapes from her father’s court, she makes a life that is entirely hers. She certainly makes her share of mistakes, but she does her best to be true to herself from beginning to end.

This book is an excellent way to re-engage with Greek mythology, particularly with one of the lesser-known goddesses; it more than holds up as a gripping story. It grapples with weighty philosophical dilemmas in a fascinating manner, and is certainly worth a read.