Christopher Nolan’s historical epic, The Odyssey, is gripping cinema audiences with its famous story of one man’s adventure-filled journey home.
With its otherworldly elements – one-eyed monsters, giant whirlpools and witches – grounded by human hubris, war and romantic yearning, the movie has achieved critical acclaim across the board. The Standard’s five-star review said: “Christopher Nolan has made an epic worthy of the gods.”
Based on Homer’s The Odyssey, one of the oldest and most influential works of literature, the film is the latest retelling of a myth that has endured for nearly 3,000 years.
While Nolan condenses parts of the story and omits some characters altogether – including Odysseus’ father, Laertes, and several gods such as Zeus – the Hollywood, IMAX version remains largely faithful to Homer’s epic, following Odysseus after the fall of Troy, from the aftermath of the Trojan Horse to the fateful loss of his crew.
Nolan’s commitment to location shooting and pooh-poohing of CGI – the Cyclops was a 60ft puppet, and he used the only functional Viking ship in the world for shots at sea – gives The Odyssey striking realism, and a tangible look at the ancient world.
If the film has left you wanting more, Homer’s The Odyssey has proved ripe source material for countless more works of literature. From Stephen Fry’s accessible retelling to feminist reimaginings and James Joyce’s groundbreaking Ulysses, these are the six best books to read next if you loved The Odyssey.
'The Odyssey' by Homer, published by Penguin
No reading list is complete without the source material. Widely regarded as the greatest poems of all time, Homer’s The Odyssey tells the epic tale of Odysseus’ 10-year journey home after the Trojan War.
Divided into 24 parts, the poem is thought to have been compiled by Homer in the 8th or 7th century BC, following a long oral tradition by Ancient Greek bards. The famous myth recounts interactions with gods, a Cyclops, witches and sea monsters, as Odysseus battles to return to Penelope and his son Telemachus.
Mythical elements are grounded in a much-debated actual history, including real Bronze Age conflicts between ancient Greeks and the city of Troy in modern-day Turkey. The poem’s geography, including Sicily and Ithaca, contains real-world locations where Nolan filmed The Odyssey.
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'The Song of Achilles' by Madeline Miller, published by Bloomsbury
A contemporary take on Homer’s The Iliad – the poet’s prequel to The Odyssey – Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles took home the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2012. The novel reimagines the Greek myth of Achilles and the Trojan War, which leads to the events in The Odyssey.
A love story that traces from childhood to war and tragedy, the novel follows Patroclus, an awkward prince exiled to Phthia after accidentally killing another boy. Achilles is the golden son of King Peleus and the sea-goddess Thetis, and destined to be the stuff of legends. The two form an unexpected friendship, then a forbidden romance, before Patroclus follows Achilles to war in Troy with disastrous consequences. The novel is considered a modern classic.
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'The Penelopiad' by Margaret Atwood, published by Canongate
Both film critics and classicists have pointed to the omission of strong female characters in Nolan’s movie. Traditional ancient Greek myths were never told from a female perspective, and Margaret Atwood righted these wrongs in The Penelopiad. The novel recountsThe Odyssey from the perspective of Odysseus’s wife Penelope and her 12 hanged maids.
From Hades – the Greek underworld – Penelope reflects on her early life in Sparta, an attempted drowning by her father King Icarus, and her marriage. Giving her a voice, the novel details Odysseus’ long absence, the raising of their son Telemachus and the management of both the kingdom and hundreds of rude suitors. In the manner of Greek plays, the 12 hanged maids act as a tragic chorus between chapters, stating they were innocent victims wrongfully murdered by Odysseus upon his return.
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'Odyssey' by Stephen Fry, published by Penguin
Stephen Fry’s Greek Myths brings Ancient Greece vividly to life for a modern audience, thanks to his signature wit and charm. There are four volumes: Mythos serves as a mythological foundation, Heroes follows epic exploits by figures such as Heracles, and Troy covers the decade-long Trojan War, including its escalation, heroes, villains and fall of the city.
The fourth book, Odyssey, recounts the aftermath and Odysseus’ journey home. From the wrath of Poseidon after Odysseus’ act of vengeance against his son, the Cyclops, to giant whirlpools, six-headed monsters and magic sirens, it’s a modern and easy-to-read companion to Nolan’s movie.
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'Ulysses' by James Joyce, published by Penguin
A modernist masterpiece, James Joyce’s Ulysses is told through a stream of consciousness over a single day. Written to mirror Homer’s The Odyssey, it argues that the story of an ordinary man in Dublin can be of epic consequence. Joyce uses 18 different narrative styles across 18 chapters. It’s a notoriously challenging but rewarding read, particularly with the The Odyssey parallels.
Leopold Bloom is Joyce’s Odysseus, a wandering advertising canvasser who is navigating the loss of his infant son and the knowledge of his waiting wife’s infidelity. Stephen Dedalus, a 22-year-old teacher and aspiring writer, echoes Telemachus, while Bloom’s wife, Mollie Bloom, reimagines Penelope in one of literature’s most celebrated closing monologues.
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'A Thousand Ships' by Natalie Haynes, published by Picador
Natalie Haynes reimagines the Trojan War through the female gaze. Beginning on the night that Troy finally falls, the city is engulfed in flames, and Trojan women are at the mercy of Greek warriors. The novel features shifting perspectives and recurring storylines that combine in a powerful feminist retelling.
From Penelope’s letters to her absent husband Odysseus and the captured Trojan women waiting on the beach to learn their fate, to Helen’s journey to Troy, which sparked the 10-year war, it’s a sweeping story exploring the impact of war on women.
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