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An Odyssey
An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic | Daniel Mendelsohn
From award-winning memoirist and critic, and bestselling author of The Lost: a deeply moving tale of a father and son's transformative journey in reading--and reliving--Homer's epic masterpiece. When eighty-one-year-old Jay Mendelsohn decides to enroll in the undergraduate Odyssey seminar his son teaches at Bard College, the two find themselves on an adventure as profoundly emotional as it is intellectual. For Jay, a retired research scientist who sees the world through a mathematician's unforgiving eyes, this return to the classroom is his "one last chance" to learn the great literature he'd neglected in his youth--and, even more, a final opportunity to more fully understand his son, a writer and classicist. But through the sometimes uncomfortable months that the two men explore Homer's great work together--first in the classroom, where Jay persistently challenges his son's interpretations, and then during a surprise-filled Mediterranean journey retracing Odysseus's famous voyages--it becomes clear that Daniel has much to learn, too: Jay's responses to both the text and the travels gradually uncover long-buried secrets that allow the son to understand his difficult father at last. As this intricately woven memoir builds to its wrenching climax, Mendelsohn's narrative comes to echo the Odyssey itself, with its timeless themes of deception and recognition, marriage and children, the pleasures of travel and the meaning of home. Rich with literary and emotional insight, An Odyssey is a renowned author-scholar's most triumphant entwining yet of personal narrative and literary exploration.
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shortsarahrose
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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

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jlhammar
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Pickpick

A 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.

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Cathy_J
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Pickpick

Gosh, 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

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KimHM
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Pickpick

ALL 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.

Graywacke I have this on the shelf. Intimated by the size, but like your comments here 5y
KimHM @Graywacke I read my e-version in three and a half days, in between teaching and yoga and regular life. It is soooo engaging it doesn‘t feel at all intimidating. And I‘ve downloaded two more of his books bc he is so, well, inspiring (a word I almost never use 😄)! 5y
Graywacke @KimHM that‘s nice to know. I‘m a terribly slow reader, but still that sounds more doable than I expected. 5y
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KimHM
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“a heroism of survival” 📚❤️💙📚💚📚

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KimHM
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”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 😍

Abailliekaras Oh I‘m dying to read this! A good reminder (it‘s in my shelves at home) - thank you! 📚 5y
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JLaurenceCohen

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.

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JLaurenceCohen

Mendelsohn writes in beautifully clear prose. He conveys tremendous knowledge alongside personal experience in a deeply satisfying way.

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JLaurenceCohen

Just picked this up and it looks intriguing.

Dogearedcopy In the Oct. 8, 2018 issue of The New Yorker, Daniel Mendelsohn‘s article, “Books: Epic Fail?” bridges his first memoir, ‘Lost‘ with the Homeric epic sagas. Looks like it would be a great prelude of sorts to this book! 5y
JLaurenceCohen @Dogearedcopy ooh, I'll have to check that out 5y
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beaconhillbooks
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Pickpick

Unintentional impeccable timing with Father‘s Day. This is a book that should not be missed.

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beaconhillbooks
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#currentlyreading Mendelsohn writes about his journey with his father following Odysseus‘ journey.

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kspenmoll
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#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

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Nitpickyabouttrains
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Mehso-so

This 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.

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BookishMarginalia
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Pickpick

A 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. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

MargoCatts I‘m thrilled to see this. I read, marked, and saved his New Yorker article, and the idea of it in full book form has me all 😍. Added, and will read with pencil in hand! 6y
kspenmoll Gave this to my co-teacher as we teach the Odyssey; she wants me to read it when she is finished. Love your review! 6y
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noonski
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Tuesday, 9/12/2017, was an exciting mail day at our house. Much happy dancing ensued.

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jenniferw88
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Yeah_I_Read I can't wait for the new James McBride!! 7y
ChasingOm Oof, I have a few of these on NetGalley; need to get on that! 7y
58 likes2 comments