The lost books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason is more a set of vignettes than a proper novel. But it is not something to be approached lightly. It hearkens back to the days of oral story telling where each recitation could be different. The book challenges us to look at Odysseus, his travels and shows us differing versions of the same story while staying true to The Odyssey. It is a book Homer would have loved.

To start with, if you haven’t read The Odysseyand The Iliad, you must read them before starting on this book. Without the background of the Trojan war and Odysseus’ travels back home, you will be lost within this book. The book assumes you know the legends and then starts playing with the narrative. Each chapter details another version of the story or of the characters. The story could be different or the story could be the same with different motivations for the characters. And in some cases the story itself is a lie that was created just to have a story to tell.

There are chapters which resemble the story from Homer, but put slightly different takes on them. The tale of Odysseus being chained to the mast while listening to the Sirens is changed slightly, so that now the songs speak to him the truths of the universe. But the ship moves out of range before he hears it all. Odysseus persuades the sailors to do it one more time, but the Sirens are silent and he is unable to persuade them again. Medusa appears in a chapter shown from her point of view. Polyphemus the cyclops has his own chapter where he decries Odysseus as a coward who does not fight him as a man.

There are also chapters where the whole story is turned on it’s ear. Such as the one where Odysseus is a suitor for Helen and conspires with Penelope (who is in love with Menelaus) to switch identities. Penelope marries Menelaus and Odysseus gets Helen. When Agamemnon comes to get Odysseus to rescue Helen(really Penelope who ran away because Menelaus bored her), Odysseus doesn’t know how to explain the joke to him and is forced to go fight.  There is also the chapter where the war itself is a traditional war and Odysseus makes up the story that becomes The Odyssey by stretching the truth until it is barely recognizable.

The book is a slim 230 pages, but does demand your attention. If you enjoy Greek storytelling and have read The Iliad and The Odyssey, then The lost books of the Odyssey is a must read.