June 2019: Circe by Madeline Miller

Miller's reimagining of part of The Odyssey - from a female perspective - tackles childbirth, rape, sexism, vulnerability and the search for identity in a world of powerful men. And includes what is, surely, one of the most fabulous inventions of all time: a house where dust cannot cross the threshold. 

Miller's exploration of spurned first love and its pleasing jealousy that makes one do stupid things rang uncomfortably true.

Circe herself seems to embody 'earthly' womanhood, in spite of her goddess status; while the world of the Titans and Zeus himself provides a suitable background of disempowerment that easily translates from the ancient mythical world to a contemporary one. The masterful stroke is that Circe's true adversaries are all female, and the narrative explores the ways that she is able to make them allies.