Never too late: how I came to finally read The Odyssey

My love of books began when I was a kid.  When I was really young, and couldn't even read, I loved the way a book felt in my hands when I held it, and I loved the look of the words on the page—even though I couldn't read, I knew the words said something important.  I especially liked library books with their mylar covers.  The mylar cover elevated the book to a higher level of importance.  Our parents were paying attention and took us on outings, usually on Friday evenings, to our municipal public library. We also had a book mobile that parked in our school parking lot one Friday afternoon each month.  In my late pre-teens my parents purchased an encyclopedia set for their many kids.  It was a cost they probably could not have afforded, but I remember my dad's pride when the large, heavy box arrived and we unpacked each volume.      

When I think back to my young reading, I am struck by the kinds of authors I read:  Austen, Dickens, Bronte' sisters, Wilke Collins (for crying out loud), Harding; and the Americans, Fenimore Cooper, Hawthorne, Alcott, Sinclair and Dreiser (who I later found out was a scheming ladies man, amongst other things) but who also wrote Sister Carrie and An American Tragedy.  In my high school years, I was attracted to the black authors of the day: Wright, Ellison, Baldwin, Hurston (Their Eyes Were Watching God gripped me).  Can't forget the Russians; first Dostoyevsky, then later Solzhenitsyn. I read Flaubert and, as I became older, the South American authors, notably Garcia Marquez.  This is by no means a complete list, and I'm not even sure it is important to where I am going with this essay, but you get the idea.  I have loved books and reading since childhood.

In all of the above, I mention nothing about the classics.  I didn't even know of them except, as I got older only as a concept.  I remember having to memorize the first sixteen lines of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales prologue for an English literature course requirement—Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote—which I I struggled with and, overall, I don't recall doing well in the course.  Of course, I read a couple of Shakespeare plays in high school.

The Iliad and The Odyssey?  These were dim and far away titles, surely not meant for someone like me to read.  As I progressed in my healthcare career, and continued reading all kinds of writing—I developed a particular fondness for essays and non-fiction, especially narrative non-fiction, I also found that I enjoyed writing and wanted to improve my writing.  I noticed that the truly great writers, and many reviewers and journalists, as well, would reference the Bible and the classic Greeks in their writing.  Not all, but many.  I thought, well, it's too late for me.

On a recent Saturday morning, I had a 30 minute drive home from an appointment and I was searching for a non-political podcast to listen to during my drive.  I scrolled through my list and found The New York Times Book Review titled This author says you shouldn't be intimated by The Odyssey.  Gilbert Cruz was interviewing Madeline Miller about The Odyssey.  What followed was one of the most interesting and delightful podcast interviews and learning experiences I have ever had via a podcast.  Cruz asked if Madeline Miller was going to see the movie.  Her response was, "I plan to."  This was the first time I had heard of Christopher Nolan's soon to be released movie, The Odyssey.  That same afternoon I went out and purchased Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey and began reading Wilson's excellent 80 page introduction.  I felt so well prepared when I launched into reading the 12,000 line poem.  I went to see the movie a few days later.

When I was on Book 4 of Emily Wilson's translation, the podcast Fresh Air came up in my feed with this title: 'Odyssey' translator Emily Wilson:  Nolan should've hired a screenwriter.  Emily Wilson was interviewed by Dave Davies—one of our most thoughtful and considerate interviewers in the media space today.  Apparently, Emily Wilson has had quite a controversial classical career.  I liked her and hearing her recite from memory, in Greek, the first stanza of Book 1 is memorable. As it turned out, and even though I enjoyed it, I agreed with her about the movie.  It was more spectacle than anything else.  The dialogue, which Wilson criticizes, could barely be heard, at least by me, above all of the other very loud sound effects.  Since the movie is relatively easy to follow, I'm not sure that not being able to hear the dialogue mattered all that much.  It was the movie's action that told the story.

There is plenty of action in Homer's poem, too.  And the dialogue is important.  Emily Wilson has also translated Homer's Iliad and I'll be reading this too, hopefully by the end of the year.  I don't think I can read it immediately following The Odyssey.  I have picked up one of Madeline Miller's reading suggestions to accompany The Odyssey and am now reading Watership Down (1972) by Richard Adams.

I know there are many readers who, like me, have not read The Odyssey.  I encourage readers to take the plunge.  The story is wonderful and full of many important lessons; as Miller describes, it's about suffering, about trickery, about survival, about loyalty and trust, about returning home, about family and, perhaps especially, about love.

Reading The Odyssey was such a pleasurable experience.  I was reminded of my love of reading and am grateful that it began so long ago.  In childhood, reading was an escape; in adulthood it still is and so much more.

Note:  I have used the em dash in my writing for a long time, even when I didn't know how to make an em dash on my computer keyboard.  I have always found it to be a useful punctuation tool.  Now that we know the AI writing models also employ the em dash, I feel I need to inform readers that I do not use an AI writing model and have never used one.  This entire piece, and everything else written on this blog—good or bad—is my own writing.