One of my favorite book podcasts proclaimed this to be "Hot Greek Summer," with a read-along of Homer's epic timed ahead of the buzzy Christopher Nolan film.
And my nerdy English-major self was pumped.
Not because I'm a devotee of ancient Greek poems. "The Odyssey" frustrated me in school, because I could never seem to tell my Telemachus from my Eurymachus.
But this summer, digging into the work with the added boost of IMAX and popcorn, I realized how relatable the story truly is.
At its heart, as Nolan's bard says, is "a face... a fleet... a war... a man." A man trying to get home, a boy trying to grow up, a woman waiting for her husband to return.
From there, larger themes like hospitality, loyalty, arrogance and destiny, and the basis of the Western canon.
It all makes for one Hades of a summer. Two thumbs up.
