by Homer
First published 1997
Odysseus stands on foreign shores, ten years after Troy's fall, still trying to reach his island kingdom of Ithaca. The gods block his path at every turn. He faces the Cyclops Polyphemus, whose blinding earns him Poseidon's wrath. Circe transforms his men into swine. The Sirens call him toward death with their songs. Scylla and Charybdis threaten to destroy his ship. Meanwhile, suitors overrun his palace, courting his wife Penelope and plotting to kill his son Telemachus. Odysseus must rely on cunning rather than strength to survive each encounter. He tricks the Cyclops, resists Circe's magic, and navigates between sea monsters. When he finally reaches Ithaca, disguised as a beggar, he finds his home in chaos. The man who conquered Troy through cleverness must now reclaim his throne and family through one final act of strategic brilliance.
Genres: classic-literature, adventure, fantasy, epic
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Ithaca, Troy
Period: Ancient
496 pages · Paperback · Penguin Classics