Circe
by Madeline Miller
★ Top 10 book of 2018 · #8 on Best Books of 2018
The unusual daughter of the sun god discovers she has the power of witchcraft and is exiled to a lonely island. There she meets famous mythological figures and must decide where she truly belongs.
Best for: Readers who enjoy mythology retold through a strong, independent female lead
Circe is #8 on BookWard's Best Books of 2018, out of 59 2018 books that cleared our data bar.
What Circe is about
Circe is born into the house of Helios, the sun god and mightiest of the Titans, but she has neither her father's power nor her mother's dangerous allure. Overlooked among the gods, she turns to the world of mortals for companionship, and there she discovers she has a talent for witchcraft. Her magic can turn rivals into monsters, and it frightens the gods enough that Zeus banishes her to a deserted island.
Alone there, she sharpens her craft and learns to tame wild beasts. Over time her path crosses with figures from Greek myth, among them the Minotaur, Daedalus and Icarus, Medea and Odysseus, and she draws the anger of both men and gods. Told in lyrical, immersive prose, it reimagines an old story from the point of view of a woman finding her strength. In the end she must decide where she truly belongs, with the gods or with mortals.
Circe on the Best Books of 2018
Circe came out in 2018. Of the 59 books first published in 2018 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #8 on our Best Books of 2018 list.
Why it made the list: 1,125 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (109 ratings); 28 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
Nearby on the 2018 list
- Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell, #6
- Normal People Sally Rooney, #7
- Verity Colleen Hoover, #9
- Restore Me Tahereh Mafi, #10
See all Best Books of 2018 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2017 Best Books of 2019.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 934 want to read it, 28 are reading it now and 162 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.2 out of 5 from 109 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 86 | 55% |
| Reader love | 68 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 78 | 20% |
Questions about Circe
When was Circe published?
Circe by Madeline Miller was first published in 2018.
Was Circe one of the best books of 2018?
Circe is #8 on BookWard's Best Books of 2018, out of 59 2018 books that cleared our data bar. 1,125 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (109 ratings); 28 are reading it right now.
Why is Circe on the Best Books of 2018 list?
1,125 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.2 out of 5 (109 ratings); 28 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2018
- Heartstopper, Volume 1 Alice Oseman, #1
- Where the Crawdads Sing Delia Owens, #2
- The Laws of Human Nature Robert Greene, #3
- Atomic Habits James Clear, #4
- Five Feet Apart Rachael Lippincott, #5
- Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell, #6
See the full Best Books of 2018, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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