The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason

I am not a classics scholar. So my tolerance for potential heresy is very high. An academic might feel differently about a first time author exploring Odysseus alternative narratives.
Mason embraces all of Greek mythology, and the nuance and ingenuity of his riffs and remixes confirm his command of the material. He speaks as Achilles, the Cyclops Polyphemus and the loyal swineherd Eumaios; recasts the story of Persephone and Hades with Helen and Paris in the lead roles; makes Theseus a time-traveler; sends Achilles on a mission to conquer a decidedly un-Greek heaven.
Mason’s renditions of Odysseus is extensive — they are comic, dead, doubled, ghosts, amnesiacs — but when the need arises, he provides an exquisite Homeric version, dripping with all the poetry that that entails. “I will make your friend there as alive as you are,” the hero, referring to a dead Patroclus, assures a “clay simulacrum” of Achilles in “The Myrmidon Golem,” a mash-up of Greek mythology and Jewish folklore. Then, true to his word, he kills the golem. An equally wily, voice-throwing Odysseus fools the Fates into giving him better than he deserves in “One Kindness.” Such moments center the reader, fortify his reserves for the journeys to come and are fabulous to read.
Mason’s imagination soars and his language is wonderful. He is a writer much like his protagonist: prone to crash landings, but resourceful and eloquent enough to find his way home.