Ithaca: A Novel of Homer's Odyssey

by Patrick Dillon

Overview

In the tumultuous aftermath of the Trojan War, a young man battles to save his home and his inheritance. Setting out to find his father, he ends up discovering himself.

Telemachus’s father, Odysseus, went off to war before he was born...and never came back. Aged sixteen, Telemachus finds himself abandoned, his father’s house overrun with men pursuing his beautiful mother, Penelope, and devouring the family’s wealth. He determines to leave Ithaca, his island home, and find the truth. What really happened to his father? Was Odysseus killed on his journey home from the war? Or might he, one day, return to take his revenge?

Telemachus's journey takes him across the landscape of bronze-age Greece in the aftermath of the great Trojan war. Veterans hide out in the hills. Chieftains, scarred by war, hoard their treasure in luxurious palaces. Ithaca re-tells Homer’s famous poem, The Odyssey, from the point of view of Odysseus’ resourceful and troubled son, describing Odysseus’s extraordinary voyage from Troy to the gates of hell, and Telemachus’s own journey from boyhood to the desperate struggle that wins back his home...and his father.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681774428
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	07/11/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Patrick Dillon is a writer and award-winning architect. He is the author of 7 books, including Truth, Lies, Gin: The Much-Lamented Death of Madam Geneva, and The Last Revolution. Patrick Dillon has been fascinated by Homer's epic poem The Odyssey since studying it at school, and has traveled extensively in Greece. He lives in London with his family, dividing his time between writing and architecture.

Editorial Reviews

"Updating the second oldest extant work of Western literature, Homer’s Odyssey, seems a daunting task, but the author entertainingly succeeds. Delightfully illuminating and satisfying. The climax is absolutely riveting and riotously dramatic with an even more unexpected finale."

Historical Novels Review

"Ithaca is a vibrant and fresh revival; Telemachus's struggles are illuminated through the use of his own voice. The well-loved classic is present: Penelope is beautiful, determined, fading; the suitors are shocking; Menelaus and Helen fight bitterly; the aging Nestor tries to guide Telemachus true. Dillon's achievement is in characterization while retaining the heart and passion of Homer."

Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Dillon has done an excellent job of reimagining the end of The Odyssey and charting Telemachus' growth from a timid youth to a capable young man ... the story is smoothly told and suspenseful, holding readers' interest through an open-ended finale that invites a sequel."

Booklist

An extraordinary reimagining of a foundational story of world literature. In a daring and completely successful innovation, Dillon has shifted the emotional center of the story from Odysseus to the innocents he has injured. The prose is at once spare and rich, the descriptions intense and compelling. This is a book not to be missed.

Terence Hawkins

05/02/2016
Dillon’s vibrant retelling of The Odyssey is set during the aftermath of the Trojan War and centers on Telemachus, son of the Greek war hero Odysseus. The book deftly chronicles the 16-year-old’s feelings of abandonment, humiliation, and anguish as he tries to protect his mother, Penelope, and discover the whereabouts of the father he has never met. Penelope was pregnant with Telemachus when Odysseus left their island home of Ithaca for the battle of Troy to rescue the celebrated beauty Helen. The Greeks were victorious after many years because of Odysseus’s legendary act of subterfuge, the Trojan Horse. Back in Ithaca, Telemachus’s home is occupied by lewd, savage men who steal the family’s valuables, squat in their courtyard, and torment Penelope. Telemachus reluctantly decides to leave his mother and search for his father. Dillon’s (The Story of Buildings) use of the father-son bond and their parallel journeys—Odysseus’s traumatic, meandering trip toward home and Telemachus’s turbulent ascent to manhood—is as rich as it is complex. This is a smart and highly readable adventure, and a fresh take on a classic story. Agent: David Haviland, Andrew Lownie Literary. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"Dillon has done an excellent job of reimagining the end of The Odyssey and charting Telemachus' growth from a timid youth to a capable young man ... the story is smoothly told and suspenseful, holding readers' interest through an open-ended finale that invites a sequel."

Booklist

A vibrant retelling of The Odyssey. Dillon’s use of the father-son bond and their parallel journeys—Odysseus’s traumatic, meandering trip toward home and Telemachus’s turbulent ascent to manhood—is as rich as it is complex. This is a smart and highly readable adventure, and a fresh take on a classic story.

From the Publisher

06/01/2016
Novelist and nonfiction writer Dillon (Truth; The Story of Buildings) crafts a sentimental tale featuring the well-traveled cast of Homer's epic poem The Odyssey. Told from various points of view including that of Odysseus; his son, Telemachus, who was left behind when Odysseus went to fight the Trojan War; and other classical characters, the novel explores the emotional lives of legendary figures. In this retelling, there is room for uncertainty, compromise, and resentment; the result is a more human and touching story about an aging warrior with a lot of fight left who finally comes home to find his kingdom has crumbled and that he is at odds with a son raised on a legend, who now wants only to find peace. VERDICT This fresh take on an ancient narrative will capture the imagination and heart of readers both new to and well versed in Homer's works. It will also attract fans of Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles.—Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib.

Library Journal