The original Greek myths, as they're told, are heavily male-centric, and the women in them fit one of these broad categories: damsel in distress, supplicant that intercedes for the hero, wily temptress, or unreasonable/irrational immortal. This re-telling shuns all of that, and does a wonderful job at that. It casts light on a fringe but really fascinating character in Circe, highlighting several stories that aren't include in mainstream canon. And does a good job addressing questions of power, in more ways than one.

Apart from the layer of retelling, there isn't much in this book as a standalone. The prose is lovely though. Miller does a really good job depicting Circe's stream of consciousness.