Circe

How it reads

Circe is historical fiction (mythological retelling, specifically), and its dominant mood is adventurous. It's driven by momentum, discovery and getting into trouble. The pace is moderate — neither a page-turner nor a slow burn — so it holds up whether you read it in long sittings or short ones.

It's set in an invented world, in the historical past, told in the first person by a single narrator. Its central concerns are identity, power and politics and love. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 409 pages it's an ordinary novel's length. It's a mega-bestseller — the book everyone seems to have read.