n.b. While based on an actual battle, the ten-year Trojan war, this epic poem is (1) classed as a book as its book-length and (2) classed as fiction because, well, so much of it is mythical.
Odyssey is Homer’s best-loved poem, recounting Odysseus’ wanderings after the Trojan War. With wit and wile, the ‘man of twists and turns’ meets the challenges of the sea-god Poseidon, and monsters ranging from the many-headed Scylla to the cannibalistic Cyclops Polyphemus – only to return after twenty years to a home besieged by his wife Penelope’s suitors.
Penelope has been waiting for her husband Odysseus to return from Troy for many years. Little does she know that his path back to her has been blocked by astonishing and terrifying trials. Will he overcome the hideous monsters, beautiful witches and treacherous seas that confront him? This rich and beautiful adventure story is one of the most influential works of literature in the world.
Literature’s grandest evocation of life’s journey, at once an ageless human story and an individual test of moral endurance.
Anna Bidoonism 