Circe and The Song of Achilles // My Thoughts

[@bryannamarie9609]

At first I absolutely HATED Thetis but at then end of the book I looked back on her character and I realized she actually went through more of a character development than I initially thought. She was forced to bed with a mortal by the gods because of her prophecy and she came to hate mortals more than she already did. Achilles’ entire life she had been trying to strip him of his mortality and make him into more of a god than a mortal because of her distaste for mortals. But because of Patroclus, Achilles held on to his mortality instead of giving in to his mother and that’s one of the biggest reasons she hated Patroclus so much (other than the fact he was mortal). So when Achilles has his son Thetis immediately takes him away to raise as her own in the way she wished to have raised Achilles. But at the end of the book you can see Thetis grieving over Achilles with Patroclus. She asks Patroclus to share all the memories he had with Achilles because she was never able to share those tender moments with him throughout his life because instead she was pushing immortality on him. I think in her mind she was comparing Achilles and his son and come to the realization that Achilles’ mortality is what made him who he was and it aided him on his way to greatness. Whereas his son was raised as a god and he was ruthless, had little to no mortality and his pride eventually lead to his downfall when he was killed by Agamemnon’s son. After she comes to this realization is when she carved Patroclus’ name into the monument in which his and Achilles ashes are buried, so Patroclus could be with him once again in the underworld.

[@niamhbutler6818]

me asf

[@ainursofeatalib5781]

just finished reading the book like a few hours ago, just when i thought im done crying i read this now im crying even harder

[@ellamckean4178]

Yes he is a demigod, and I read a comment somewhere that everyone believes that it is his god-blood that gives him his ‘golden’ quality, but then if you compare him to Pyrrhus, who was raised as a god and is completely heartless and cold, you realise that it was actually Achilles’ mortality that gave him his golden-ness. That book broke me, I couldn’t even cry for about 2 hours afterwards until I had properly processed it oh my god even thinking about it now 😭 wow. Being able to read that for the first time was one of the best experiences ✨

[@niamhbutler6818]

no literally same. like i put the book down and i was not crying. then i sat there staring at the cover and thinking about it and then all of a sudden, so many tears came.

[@ainursofeatalib5781]

@@niamhbutler6818 honestly same after i finished I literally just stare at the wall for a few mins get up and did some chores, after im done with everything i bawled my eyes out for hours

[@alejandrarodriguez8410]

Me: patroclus won't die, he is the narrator of the story! Madeline miller: **evil laugh**

[@ng2004]

Candles + Books = Fire

[@user-hk7nh1cm7r]

Setting the book on fire?☺

[@wrighty321go]

I'm always here for love for Madeline Miller. I read The Song of Achilles years ago and fell in love with it and when Circe came out I was so excited for that as well. I loved both of them for different reasons the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus then in Circe how powerful Circe becomes in herself as the book goes on.

[@TheRamboBeast]

Also: A girl walks alone in the forest. Zeus be like: "ima turn into a cloud and impregnate her"

[@ML-vl5ib]

i just finished reading song of achilles and it’s already my fave book it’s just so well written, i want to read circe now too thanks for the vid

[@destinyp6687]

I absolutely believe that Circe was being way too accommodating to the children of low river lords who try to flex their power by sending their unwanted children to her. She should have found a way to put a stop to that while reminding them that she was sent there because she’s dangerous. Zeus was even afraid of her that’s why she was banished to that island in the first place. She should have reminded people that she was not to be trifled with. However I understand how it’s hard to flex your power when you think that you don’t have much.

[@paulkofler519]

This is now all about song of Achilles: I personally liked the book but there are things that annoy me. First I was super excited and hyped bc of TikTok but I didn’t cry. I liked it but I never cried and for me it wasn’t that emotional how everyone else said. Maybe bc I already knew what was going to happen bc I love mythology. I think Achilles and Patroclus had chemistry but especially towards the end it lacked chemistry and Achilles became more and more an asshole and I couldn’t understand that much anymore how they could be soulmates etc. I sometimes even thought that Patroclus and Briseis had more more chemistry. I liked the writing style but I also often wanted more detailed scenes (especially in moments like Achilles seeing Patroclus‘ body or him taking revenge on Hector). I often missed the „show, don’t tell“ aspect of situations. Epically in a 10 year war there could’ve been so so many cute and deep and romantic moments between Patroclus and Achilles that would’ve showed us WHY they are soulmates and why they love each other, not only good moments but also moments where they argue and then see that they were wrong and they apologise. I personally liked it but circe better

[@candy3748]

I just finished the song of Achilles last night and I hvn cried over a book for a long time. I recently bought the Circe as well.. gonna read it later.

[@earl-grey-milk-tea]

the way I just finished binging Circe in one night after reading TSOA..! like you I also enjoyed both novels for different reasons, where TSOA was an epic about love and war and grief and the style and pacing reflected that, Circe to me is all about agency and othering and alienation and female rage and is much more thematically complex! I do think Miller's writing improved in Circe and I'm really excited to see what she has planned in the future. I would also love to see more in-depth book chats! I feel like a lot of booktubers who do those cover mostly YA and I'd love to see more on classics or other literary fiction

[@kelseytaylor6314]

I started to read Marriage, a history, Roxana and the Illiad because of Emma! LOVE YOU GIRL! Binge watching your youtube channel xx

[@harshagobinath9384]

Just a fellow dyslexic who also thought it was circle 😂

[@sakinah4161]

PAHAHA SAME

[@zaztre8829]

Circe's book reminded me of a story by the Argentine writer Julio Cortázar, in the book entitled "bestiary." It's a great read. I recommend it to you. I love your energy, and the way you give the reviews. greetings from Mexico

[@pretamonge7789]

okay enough emma I'll read Circe OKAYYYY

[@HkFinn83]

E.V. Rieu’s translation of the Odyssey is a significant literary landmark in itself (in addition to its own numerous qualities), being the first Penguin classic, and opening a door to classic literature that many people would otherwise have not had access to.

[@CoynieReads]

Yes! I have that Atticus the Storyteller's 100 Greek Myths. What a blast from the past! 😱

[@sarcastic_fish]

ikr I got my mum to go find the book at home and it sent me straight down nostalgia lane omg

[@MsWarna98]

Another two I’m going to buy just because you made them sound good 😌you’re actually feeding my book addiction ❤️🥺

[@jazzyp56]

Can you talk about your Nancy Mitford collection in depth and review?

[@OpheliaVert]

Omg such a good idea

[@tessa.camilla]

oh yes please ❤️

[@francescaellis8893]

+

[@user-wu5kd8le8b]

Actually Circe is pronounced kirki in greek 😂

[@TheRamboBeast]

I hope you've read the Oresteia (Aeschylus) and the Theban Plays (Sophocles), the two best series of Greek tragedies. After Homer, the best I've read of ancient lit.

[@mariazaurrinifiorentino1656]

I read the Iliad and the Odissey since i was like 10😂 this winter i read The song of Achilles and i was amazed, this book broke my heart but everything was amazing, the writing, the chatacters....my fav book ever. Then i read Circe and i liked it too but idk at some point it was kinda boring for me, and i wasnt so invested like tsoa but i enjoyed it anyway❤️

[@bngr_bngr]

I like how you say ‘F’ every other word

[@wingcastlereads5657]

I love these kind of reviews. An in-depth talk that focuses more on themes, without all that structure you see in a lot of other reviews. This feels more like KZbin

[@torenchao]

I literally read tsoa the next day after reading circe because I loved the writing! :D

[@sally2739]

I LOVE your book videos 🤩🤩looking forward to the classics lit recs video

[@wamyarabel1288]

I love classics, Go ahead and do it girl!

[@katelyncostello2429]

Both added to my tbr 4 week wait from my library

[@nhopec]

Love this type of video from you. I did not like Circe as much as I wanted to. You made me consider reading it again! So there you go hahaha Would love to see more of these kinds of videos in the future ☺️

[@arianamini645]

Emmaaaaa is backkkkk!!!!💖💖💖💖

[@martinamakek9608]

You remind me So Much of anna taylor joy

[@emmalouise88]

Please make all the book videos in the world, I love hearing your perspective 💜

[@TheRealXLegend]

Do you know the new first female translation of the odyssey that came out last year or so ? She did an outstanding job and it is very different from the older translations, I really recommend it

[@CharlesJosepDelDotto]

Okay, you HAVE to read British poet Christopher Logue's six-volume (really, five and a half volumes since the last one was cobbled together posthumously, but who's splitting hairs?) contemporary rendering of The Iliad, collected in an omnibus under the title War Music (War Music is also the name of the first volume). Written from the 1960s to, presumably, his death in 2011, these slim volumes of poetry are AMAZING. They are by no means attempts to simply translate Homer (as if there was anything "simple" about translation). Rather, they conceptualize The Iliad in terms of the reality of late twentieth-century/early twenty-first-century history. They are simultaneously wicked and profound. READ WAR MUSIC.

[@cicerhoe7983]

The Most iconic term 'Influence-her'

[@dianewalker9154]

You might like Hadrian and the triumph of Rome by Anthony Everitt.

[@ipshitajee]

I love every second of this video Ps- I also don't know which book I liked the most 👀

[@goldblue7037]

I liked both of them!

[@Anna-tn1li]

Idk if you eead it but the silence of the girls by pat baker is also a retelling of the illiad but from briseis perspective

[@rebekahhigginbotham541]

I haven’t recovered from reading The Song of Achilles... I read it months ago... I’m still in bits... help...

[@anishapradhan2383]

I loved circe too. Have you read silence of the girls by Pat Barker? I really enjoyed it too

[@samkcatladyaks]

What was that one like? bc I was in Circe for all the feminism, the cottagecore, the lions as familiars, turning rapists into pigs, and the beautiful writing. I need a new book to read that’s written first person from a feminist standpoint.

[@anishapradhan2383]

​@@samkcatladyaks It is told from a feminist perspective of the Illiad, written first person, female pov. It shifts the focus from the aggression by the men to the violence and destruction faced by the women. I also like Pat Barker's style of writing - it was gripping and I couldn't put the book down. I think it's worth giving it a shot :)!

[@samkcatladyaks]

Thank you! I’m going to order it now!!!

[@amberrush9970]

can you do a video all about Samuel Beckett or Roxana

[@alejandrarodriguez8410]

Those are some of my fave books ever, Since I read them I have not read another genre other than historical fiction

[@danielapiovesan3791]

I clicked on this waaay too fast 😂

[@aliyamoujahid4289]

You should most definitely read the percy jackson series

[@sarhatnariman752]

guys and girls ?? where the hell boyz gone?????!!!

[@megaduck7965]

Ah the old dyslexic Circe pronunciation , got that wrong for years until I played Age of mythology

[@aishikamitra]

I legit thought this was an old video :P

[@minadorissa]

I'm greek and scared to read those books (Also i dont get the μ joke??? The letter is pronounced like 'me')

[@giuliantoneIIi]

didn’t get it either, i think in english they pronounce it differently (?)

[@kd8206]

fan fictions on ao3 > these people should be making us pay to read them because the EFFORT in some of them

[@hannahm2480]

Ilysm 💕💕💕

[@caitlinjohnson6310]

How about a video where you read and review some graphic novels!

[@lornatw]

💗 very excited, yes. Borderline spamming 😂

[@brendanrodrigues9798]

Love your review checkout "Suheldev the king who saved india"

[@AceHardy]

🎶🔥

[@VictorAugustus]

According to Wikipedia he is a Demigod en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_demigods

[@anrysse]

Wow I’m so early

[@avv.francescadicaro7676]

I read both the books. I loved TSOA a lots. I thinks Miller gave us a very particular point of view about Achilles's life. It's interesting. But IMO, Circes is a little boring, Probably so long. Btw I like so much Miller!!

[@coconutmilch2351]

What bothered me about the book was like: it seems as though every other god/goddess besides her was evil somehow … How boring. And how “everyone is against me”

[@insomnia-city504]

I feel like the characters are lacking depth. Patroclus in particular, had no purpose appart from following Achilles everywhere and being desperately in love with him... And the fanfiction, indeed, jumped out, especially in Circe. Still had some fun reading these, but not as much as I thought I would.

[@filmywala4495]

CIRCE is over rated. I read this book after reading SCARLETT LOST IN THE FIVE LANDS which blew my mind away. I would say that SCARLETT is 1000 times better than CIRCE. The only reason why CIRCE got hype is due to the greek mythoogy factor and the media hype around it. For people that say CIRCE is an outcast and so loved by readers, SCARLETT too was an outcast that gets bullied by her peers