Circe

Alluring and entertaining first person narrative by Circe, daughter of god of the sun, Helios. We follow her live's story, from her lonely childhood of being shunned by the other gods, for missing their qualities, to her fascination with mortals, the discovery of her sorceress skills, to her banishment to the deserted island Aeaea and the many characters of Greek mythology she meets on the way.

The first half of the book was my favorite, as we discover the wonder and the cruelty of the world of gods, together with Circe. From the eyes of a naive child, that's longing for love and a sense of belonging that she never receives from her family. My critique of the second half then would be that the story tried to encompass a few too many famous characters. It could have benefited from a slight trim, maybe by dropping her encounter with Jason and Medea? As the allure of the story is not her appearance in other famous stories, but Circe herself, her inner life, her grappling with her divinity and her inner humanity.

The audio book narration was perfect, as Perdita Weeks's voice has this british, drawn-out, slightly lofty quality that seemed the ideal fit for Circe's frail and yet also proud and stubborn goddess demeanour.