CIRCE by Madeline Miller*****

 Circe by Madeline Miller is the ultimate coming-of-age story. Circe, an immortal, first steps out on her own when she defies her father Helios and god Zeus to give comfort to Prometheus. Later, she offended Zeus by transforming Scylla (of Scylla and Charybdis fame) into a six-headed monster. For these forays into independence, she was exiled, where she became the witch of Aiaia. She did not learn her lesson and continued to defy the gods. She experienced the other side of coming of age when she became mother to Telegonus (her son with Odysseus). Thus, the author explores coming of age with the intertwined stories of mother and child. Caveat: It helps to be familiar with Greek mythology, Minoans, and Homer to follow this book.

In addition to coming of age, the author explores mortality. Circe is immortal, but with her exile, she is isolated from the others. Her immortal contacts include Athena (whom Circe defies over and over), Hermes (who has brief visits to deliver messages from the gods--most of which Circe ignores), and nymphs. Circe uses her witchcraft to prevent Athena from visiting Aiaia.

Her contacts with mortals are more numerous. When the captain of a ship rapes her, transforms him and his crew into pigs and butchers them all. This becomes her way of dealing with visiting sailors. She makes an exception for Odysseus, sleeps with him, and sends him home to Ithaca, his wife Penelope, and their son Telemachus. After she is gone, she discovers she is pregnant with Telegonus. She is alone for the birth and performs her own Cesarean delivery (not called that because this is before the times of the Romans).

Her son teaches Circe about the messy details of life as a mortal. She cannot sleep with a baby in the house. Telegonus needs to be cleaned, dressed, fed, and calmed-she spends so much time walking with Telegonus to calm him, often unsuccessfully. Circe feels frustration and love. Later as part of her son’s coming of age, she releases him to visit Ithaca to see his father, Odysseus. He returns with news of his father’s death and his father’s surviving family, Penelope and Telemachus. Circe spends much of her solitary time contemplating the differences between mortality and immortality.

The first half of the book narrates Circe’s independence, offenses against her parents and the gods, and ultimately her exile to Aiaia. I felt the book came to life when Odysseus visited Circe, their courtship, and her motherhood.

Most of the characters are static (Odysseus, Helios, Zeus, Athena), but Circe’s son Telegonus, Odysseus’s wife Penelope, and her son Telemachus, all join Circe with their coming-of-age journeys making this the ultimate coming of age story. 

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