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A review by sauvageloup
The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was wonderful, incredibly interesting
pros:
- not only the usual alternate endings (Penelope remarrying, etc.) explored, but very interesting and obscure interpretations (Odysseus and Theseus' stories combining, Medusa's tale, etc.). Some combine different myths, some change the plot, some change the POV, some play with time, but they're all different and very original and imaginative
- the language and writing is incredibly poetic and some of the lines were gorgeous
- it really honours the multiplicity of Ody. himself and the oral tradition and fits perfectly into the tradition
cons:
- it was slow paced, because so many of the stories were so short. I wish some of them had been longer
- some were also confusing and I wasn't quite sure what they were getting at, but that obscurity was also part of the charm
Almost gave this a four, but I think it was mostly my impatience that made it feel quite so slow. Would recommend to anyone who has a basic understanding of the Ody., although I think close understanding helps reveal the hidden nuggets. Mason does add some asterixed footnotes with background info on the Ody., but I still wouldn't recommend it for someone who'd never read the Ody.
pros:
- not only the usual alternate endings (Penelope remarrying, etc.) explored, but very interesting and obscure interpretations (Odysseus and Theseus' stories combining, Medusa's tale, etc.). Some combine different myths, some change the plot, some change the POV, some play with time, but they're all different and very original and imaginative
- the language and writing is incredibly poetic and some of the lines were gorgeous
- it really honours the multiplicity of Ody. himself and the oral tradition and fits perfectly into the tradition
cons:
- it was slow paced, because so many of the stories were so short. I wish some of them had been longer
- some were also confusing and I wasn't quite sure what they were getting at, but that obscurity was also part of the charm
Almost gave this a four, but I think it was mostly my impatience that made it feel quite so slow. Would recommend to anyone who has a basic understanding of the Ody., although I think close understanding helps reveal the hidden nuggets. Mason does add some asterixed footnotes with background info on the Ody., but I still wouldn't recommend it for someone who'd never read the Ody.