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A review by crystalstarrlight
A Sea of Sorrow: A Novel of Odysseus by Libbie Hawker, Scott Oden, David Blixt
4.0
Bullet Review:
That final story with Odysseus! WOW!!
It nearly took me a year but I think 1) I went through a reading funk (I barely made my 30 book challenge last year and that was mostly because of the audiobooks and comics I read) and 2) I kept getting stuck in the more boring (IMO) stories (namely the Kyklops and the Sirens ones). Libbie Hawker’s Circe story is FANTASTIC and probably my favorite of this complication.
In short, I definitely enjoyed it despite how long it took me to finish.
Full Review:
In 2018, for the first time, I got a chance to read The Iliad, a book that 1) makes me sound pretentious AF and 2) was surprisingly easier to read than the Bible and many other more modern books I've ever read. Reading that lead me to read the first assembly of short stories, A Song of War. As with many compendiums of short stories, that had some good, some meh, and some boring.
Today, after starting this poor book nearly a year ago, I have finished it. Like with "A Song of War", some of the stories knock it out of the park (Hawker's Circe short story is absolutely divine) and some are incredibly strange (the Kyklops and the Siren stories). However, I think that, although I spent nearly a year on this series of essays, the stories were generally better than the ones in "A Song of War".
I suppose before reading this, I should have picked up the Odyssey, but I did not. I walked into these stories mostly blind, with a very scant knowledge of what happens. (My high school/college education included nothing about the Odyssey, so what I know is from cultural osmosis.) While that might have made it more difficult for me to know what would happen, it didn't deter my enjoyment overall of the stories.
The entire set of short stories is based on the premise: What if the characters believe in gods, but all the miraculous or godly events were just explained by fantastical storytelling or other mundane events? It's a neat conceit, one that the authors here generally did well. (Not sure I bought the Kyklops and Sirens stories, but I do feel like the authors tried very hard, based on their explanations at the end of this book.)
The opening story with Penelope and her son, Telemachus, was well done and enjoyable, a good opener for this set. We move onto the Kyklops, a story told in oral history form, a grandparent to a grandchild. It was probably here that my first big hiccup happened; I struggled to get through this story as it was so peculiar.
Then there was Libbie Hawker's standout Circe piece. Absolutely stunning. I cannot give more compliments for this piece of work - I adored every moment I spent with Circe! I've read some of Hawker's works, which I've had (unfortunately) mixed feelings for, but this was sheer brilliance.
The Siren's story was another one of those odd ones, another area where I slowed to a halt. Then I picked up steam again at Calypso's story, and then finally, the end when Odysseus returns to his court.
For people who enjoy the Iliad and the Odyssey, I definitely recommend this compilation, even with the minor blips of the Kyklops and the Siren stories (I really feel these authors had the hardest job of translating their fantastical stories into something more realistic). Again, even though I spent a LONG time reading these, I don't attribute that to the fault of this selection. The stories were at the end, enjoyable and a rollercoaster of emotions.
That final story with Odysseus! WOW!!
It nearly took me a year but I think 1) I went through a reading funk (I barely made my 30 book challenge last year and that was mostly because of the audiobooks and comics I read) and 2) I kept getting stuck in the more boring (IMO) stories (namely the Kyklops and the Sirens ones). Libbie Hawker’s Circe story is FANTASTIC and probably my favorite of this complication.
In short, I definitely enjoyed it despite how long it took me to finish.
Full Review:
In 2018, for the first time, I got a chance to read The Iliad, a book that 1) makes me sound pretentious AF and 2) was surprisingly easier to read than the Bible and many other more modern books I've ever read. Reading that lead me to read the first assembly of short stories, A Song of War. As with many compendiums of short stories, that had some good, some meh, and some boring.
Today, after starting this poor book nearly a year ago, I have finished it. Like with "A Song of War", some of the stories knock it out of the park (Hawker's Circe short story is absolutely divine) and some are incredibly strange (the Kyklops and the Siren stories). However, I think that, although I spent nearly a year on this series of essays, the stories were generally better than the ones in "A Song of War".
I suppose before reading this, I should have picked up the Odyssey, but I did not. I walked into these stories mostly blind, with a very scant knowledge of what happens. (My high school/college education included nothing about the Odyssey, so what I know is from cultural osmosis.) While that might have made it more difficult for me to know what would happen, it didn't deter my enjoyment overall of the stories.
The entire set of short stories is based on the premise: What if the characters believe in gods, but all the miraculous or godly events were just explained by fantastical storytelling or other mundane events? It's a neat conceit, one that the authors here generally did well. (Not sure I bought the Kyklops and Sirens stories, but I do feel like the authors tried very hard, based on their explanations at the end of this book.)
The opening story with Penelope and her son, Telemachus, was well done and enjoyable, a good opener for this set. We move onto the Kyklops, a story told in oral history form, a grandparent to a grandchild. It was probably here that my first big hiccup happened; I struggled to get through this story as it was so peculiar.
Then there was Libbie Hawker's standout Circe piece. Absolutely stunning. I cannot give more compliments for this piece of work - I adored every moment I spent with Circe! I've read some of Hawker's works, which I've had (unfortunately) mixed feelings for, but this was sheer brilliance.
The Siren's story was another one of those odd ones, another area where I slowed to a halt. Then I picked up steam again at Calypso's story, and then finally, the end when Odysseus returns to his court.
For people who enjoy the Iliad and the Odyssey, I definitely recommend this compilation, even with the minor blips of the Kyklops and the Siren stories (I really feel these authors had the hardest job of translating their fantastical stories into something more realistic). Again, even though I spent a LONG time reading these, I don't attribute that to the fault of this selection. The stories were at the end, enjoyable and a rollercoaster of emotions.