Best Books to Read After Watching Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’

For those who don't person a premium Spotify subscription, I'd urge you cheque retired Amazon's Audible subscription. You tin get 3-months astatine $0.99/month close now, and it includes the immense bulk of the books I'm going to beryllium referencing conscionable below.

To marque definite you'll beryllium afloat informed, I'll endeavour to support mentioning erstwhile thing is disposable to perceive to via Audible alongside its carnal copy.

The Odyssey - Translated by Emily Wilson

Emily Wilson's translation of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, is often touted arsenic 1 of the precise champion ways to get into the Greek epic without it feeling excessively overwhelming and bogged down with inauthentic and archaic connection choices. It's up to #7 successful the Amazon charts this week, and that's not astatine each surprising.

It's a fresh, beautiful, and modern instrumentality connected the past poem, and 1 I'd highly urge you cheque it retired if you loved Christopher Nolan's film. While I couldn't find a root myself, Wilson's translation is often credited by galore to beryllium what Nolan based his instrumentality on. I personally emotion both, and I deliberation you volition too.

Wilson has besides precocious followed this 2017 translation up with Homer's 'The Iliad', successful 2024. I've work that this is arsenic arsenic superb arsenic 'The Odyssey', and I was adjacent talented a transcript by my fantastic spouse earlier this twelvemonth (she knows maine excessively well). I'm yet to excavation successful myself, but I'm perfectly readying to soon.

You tin cheque retired some of Wilson's translations arsenic a carnal transcript from Amazon, successful paperback and hardcover, oregon via Audible for $0.99/month.

The Greek Myths Reimagined - by Stephen Fry

Another I've been talented by friends and family, and each of which person been the taxable of my astir caller reads. Let maine springiness you the lowdown, successful lawsuit you've ne'er heard of Stephen Fry's astonishing acceptable of Greek Myth retellings.

Stephen Fry's reimagined Greek Myths are a fantastic mode to revisit your favourite tales, oregon adjacent commencement speechmaking astir them for the archetypal time. Fry's wit perfectly shines done the page, and makes it easier to chomp down done immoderate of the much name-heavy tales. You cognize what I mean, erstwhile you're speechmaking Greek Myths... and the full leafage is fundamentally conscionable a statement of a household tree.

While Fry doesn't ever flight the trap of needing to fto you cognize the ins and outs of every azygous household subordinate successful the branching histrion of antheral and gods, it's inactive wonderfully delightful, and gets a large ol' stamp of proposal from me. For those funny successful exploring much of Nolan's 'The Odyssey', I'd suggest checking retired 'Troy', which covers events from 'The Iliad' and, of course, 'The Odyssey'.

But don't walk up Mythos and Heroes arsenic well, arsenic it truly sets the code for immoderate of the astir important characters and themes you'll beryllium coming crossed successful all forms of Greek Myth retellings. It was these books that solidified my knowing of the value of "Zeus' Law" successful Greek Myth, which, arsenic we know, comes up much than a fewer times successful Nolan's film.

All of these are disposable successful paperback format, oregon via Audible for $0.99/month. Fry adjacent narrates these himself, truthful I'd highly urge checking retired the audiobooks if you can; they are tremendous!

The Song of Achilles - by Madeline Miller

I was a spot down the remainder of the world, and lone work The Song of Achilles past twelvemonth implicit Christmas. That being said, I loved it. It's not similar maine to beryllium capable to conscionable beryllium down and devour a publication without immoderate signifier of inheritance crushed to beryllium still, i.e., train, plane, car, and immoderate different forms of nationalist transport. Yet, it didn't instrumentality agelong for writer Madeline Miller to get maine hooked connected this unthinkable novel.

The Song of Achilles tin beryllium champion described arsenic a homage to 'The Iliad', and follows an incredibly unsocial retelling of the fable of Achilles and the Trojan War. It's a tragic, beauteous emotion story, and utterly enthralling from commencement to finish.

To implicit your reading, Circe is different unthinkable publication from her, focusing connected the formidable sorceress of 'The Odyssey'. Both are disposable successful paperback astatine Amazon for $9.69 and $8.49 respectively, and you tin besides perceive connected Audible for $0.99/month.

Honorable Mentions

There are countless antithetic versions and retellings of 'The Odyssey', truthful I won't beryllium capable to spell into each and each 1 of them. There's evidently loads much to cheque out, and plentifulness I haven't read, oregon would simply find it hard to urge without knowing more. But, we tin decorativeness things disconnected with a fewer casual honorable mentions.

I've been suggested to besides cheque out, by plentifulness of friends and family, 'A Thousand Ships', by Natalie Haynes, ‘Ithaca’ by Patrick Dillon, ‘Sing, Unburied, Sing’ by Jesmyn Ward, ‘The Penelopiad’ by Margaret Atwood, and ‘An Odyssey’ by Daniel Mendelsohn. For anyone looking for immoderate much tragically bittersweet Greek retellings, I'd besides highly urge 'Daedallus is Dead' by Seamus Sullivan.

But, if you're aft thing a small person to what you've already consumed, you can't get immoderate person than "The Official Odyssey Screenplay". It's good worthy checking out, particularly for immoderate aspiring movie makers retired there, arsenic Nolan's scripts are often chock afloat of absorbing bits of cardinal accusation that you mightiness person initially missed erstwhile inititally watching the film. It's up for preorder close present astatine Amazon for $17.99, and releases connected August 4, 2026.

Otherwise, it's worthy taking a look astatine modular copies of Homer's timeless epic poems via Amazon, wherever you tin find 'Homer: The Iliad & the Odyssey (Deluxe Hardbound Edition)' for $22.49 alongside a slew of different translations and editions to perchance adhd to your collection.

IGN's The Odyssey reappraisal returned an 8/10. We said: "The Odyssey adapts Homer done a caller oculus that brings a consciousness of fearfulness and existential angst to the communicative – and immoderate wit too. It whitethorn not beryllium a cleanable movie, but it’s a beauteous large moviegoing acquisition each the same."

Robert Anderson is IGN's Senior Commerce Editor and nonmigratory deals adept connected games, collectibles, trading paper games, and more. You tin travel him @robertliam21 connected Bluesky.