Odyssey

I think that Stephen Fry’s retellings get more and more engaging with each entry. A classic story retold well.

The fourth and final book in Stephen Fry's retelling of Greek myth. The entire series is worth reading, and this one not any different.

I've said before in my reviews of his myth books, and I'll say it again: I view Stephen Fry as the definitive reteller of the wonderful Greek stories. He's incredibly well researched, his footnotes are informative and his ability to weave together the strings of Greek myth in a way that's lovably human is amazing.

The action within the Ithacan palace picks up towards the end of the book. The middle leads us through the journeys and struggles of Odysseus and his crew on the way home. While the beginning is all about tertiary post-Troy stories and experiences.

While some might not like the pacing of this book, I found it gave me just enough time to settle into the story and really feel the humanity of it all. The mythical Greek world wasn't just Odysseus, his wife Penelope, her suitors and her son Telemachus waiting back at home. The mythical Greek world is also made up of its sailors, its backstabbers and its founders of Carthage and Rome.

When it came to the point in the book where Odysseus was telling the tales of his travels and perils, I found it was so well written it felt like they were Odysseus' words, not Stephen Fry's. I have to commend Fry for that in this review.

Overall, an excellent finish to the myth retelling series with a pretty thought provoking epilogue that relates our modern experience with ancient myth. Well done, Stephen Fry.