Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic | 
2024 Non-Fiction Favourites: Some stellar memoirs, great art collections, fantastic works on horror, and a whole, heaping helping of why prison should be abolished, as well as some other highly educational material on topics near and dear to me.
pickA favourite of 2024, for sure. So many things about this just worked so well for me. A richer, more patient examination of the Odyssey than I've previously encountered in the flurry of four years of a Greek and Roman Studies BA; a focus on its language and its themes, occasionally dipping into the original Greek in a way I never had the chance to encounter; the significance of the original word choice. 1/?
The free book table has been restocked! I know who did it because I recognize the name of the English instructor written in the cover of the sudden fiction book. Probably good that I was in a hurry to get to my therapy appointment, otherwise I would‘ve ended up with more! #bookhaul
pickA brilliantly structured blend of literary analysis and memoir. Mendelsohn is a classics scholar and professor at Bard. His 81 year old father asks to sit in on his undergraduate seminar on The Odyssey. He agrees and it proves to be a surprising and enriching experience. Very moving. Really enjoyed the audiobook narration by Bronson Pinchot.
pickGosh, where to begin? The author is a professor who teaches a seminar on Homer's Odyssey so there is lots of interesting analysis and discussion of the text BUT his 81 year old father has enrolled in the class so in parallel it is a memoir of their own journey together including a "retracing the Odyssey" cruise. I read this slowly to have thinking time ? It was very good. ⭐⭐⭐.5
pickALL the ⭐️s and ALL the 💡!!!
This may be the best memoir I‘ve ever read. The person and his work and his subjects are so perfectly integrated one feels upon reading that one has walked and read and loved and grieved beside him. And I‘m going to give the Odyssey and the Iliad another go.
”Greek‘s vast vocabulary of pain” !!!!
I‘m a third of the way through this combination memoir/exegesis and it‘s like hanging out with a very cool, very smart Classics prof (which, of course, is what Mendelssohn is 😍). Def making me want to give Homer another go 😍
Mendelsohn's memoir imitates Homeric narrative itself through "ring composition," a technique of layered storytelling which circles back to earlier events to contextualize the matter at hand.
Mendelsohn writes in beautifully clear prose. He conveys tremendous knowledge alongside personal experience in a deeply satisfying way.
Just picked this up and it looks intriguing.
pickUnintentional impeccable timing with Father‘s Day. This is a book that should not be missed.
#currentlyreading Mendelsohn writes about his journey with his father following Odysseus‘ journey.
#Giveaway #Congrats #ThankYou
Congrats @BookaholicNatty ! 25k! 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Thanks for this amazing #giveaway!
Books I chose:
📚The Odyssey( Emily Wilson edition) #blameitonLitsy
📚an Odyssey: A Father, Son and An Epic
Soon to be reading Homer with 9th grade so on my mind...
📚Ask Me About My Uterus: A Quest to Make Doctors Listen to Women‘s Pain
📚 @Lacythebookworm @ValerieAndBooks @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @RealLifeReading @Suet624
so-soThis book was not long but it was very dense. I liked the parts about his father a lot. The relationship there was interesting. The parts about the odyssey (the epic) were less so to me. I saw the parallels the author was drawing, but I did not need a line for line repetition of the class he taught.
pickA lovely memoir about the relationship between the author and his dad, as mediated by Homer‘s The Odyssey. As much about reading and teaching and learning and striving as it is about marriage and filial relationships and the utter impossibility of ever completely knowing those we love. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Tuesday, 9/12/2017, was an exciting mail day at our house. Much happy dancing ensued.
