An Odyssey: A Father, A Son and an Epic
Daniel Mendelsohn (William Collins, hbk, $39.99)
The oldest and arguably finest travel story ever told is
holding up well. The blind poet Homer composedThe
Odyssey27 centuries ago, and it continues to inspire
translators, travellers and publishers. Not everyone, though,
has the stamina to follow the hero’s 20-year journey
through a fantastical Med, and his long-awaited return
to the Greek island of Ithaca in hexameter verse. On my
summer reading list is essayist Daniel Mendelsohn’s
account of a journey – literary and actual – with his father
through Homer’s epic. I’ll toast their familial adventure with
ouzo, of course, and grilled calamari, and tzatziki, and
slow-cooked lamb. And more ouzo. It’s an epic, after all.
HELEN ANDERSON, TRAVEL EDITOR
Dish from Hay. Grande &
Sweet sunglasses in Turmeric
from Lucy Folk. Glass from
Hub Furniture. OPPOSITE
PAGE: Jug and glass with
soda (right) from West Elm.
Tumbler from The DEA Store.
All other props stylist’s own.
Stockists p176.