Madeline Miller’s novel, Circe, was an instant number 1 New York Times bestseller, and won the Indies Choice Best Adult Fiction of the Year Award and the Indies Choice Best Audiobook of the Year Award, as well as being shortlisted for the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction.The New York TImes called Circe “A bold and subversive retelling of the goddess’s story that manages to be both epic and intimate in its scope, recasting the most infamous female figure from the Odyssey as a hero in her own right.” O Magazine wrote “Spellbinding…. in Miller’s conception, Circe is the hero of her own epic…. Miller has created a daring feminist take on a classic narrative; although the setting is a mystical world of gods, monsters, and nymphs, the protagonist at its heart is like any of us. A free woman, the author seems to be saying, must be willing to forsake the trappings of birthright and rank in order to claim her destiny, whether thousands of years ago or today.”
Book Club details: Students will read Circe, have a book discussion on Zoom (date TBD) and will attend a lecture with the author on Thursday, January 28, 2021 (7:30pm) at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall or online. Details: https://literary-arts.org/event/2020-21-portland-arts-lectures-madeline-miller/.
Book Club Lead: Rita Pinchot