Ithaka

Book: Ithaka
Author: Adele Geras
Audience: Teen
In a Nutshell: waiting for Odysseus with a few Greek gods, a few hundred nasty houseguests, and one very old dog

This is kind of a sequel, but it stands alone. The first book is called Troy. Now the battle of Troy is over, but Odysseus is still far from home. While he's off having all the adventures it takes to get an "odyssey" named after you, life at home on the island of Ithaka goes on. His faithful wife Penelope and son Telemachus still believe he's alive and coming home, but after 12 years and counting few others share that belief. The story is told mainly through the eyes of Penelope and Klymene, a girl who, along with her twin brother Ikarios, is a servant at the palace and was raised with Telemachus. The arrival of Telemachus's distant cousin, a selfish man magnet named Melantho, throws love complications out in all directions. Then dozens of nasty, rude chieftains and their men arrive to vie for the hand of Penelope and camp out in the courtyard for months, and if Penelope doesn't find a way to stall them things could get ugly. The regular narrative is augmented by two kinds of poetic interludes as Penelope unknowingly weaves on her loom the story of her husband's journey as it happens, and as Odysseus's dog, Argos, dreams and waits for his master to return.

This isn't necessarily my kind of book, but I read it for a review group and actually liked it. It's good historical/mythological fiction written from the other side of Homer's famous Odyssey, the side with the women and children, and the writing kept me engaged. The male-female relationship content gets pretty mature, though not graphic, as both the teen and adult characters are the target of Eros and Aphrodite's influences. It also made me wish I knew The Odyssey better to know how this story ties in. Not enough to actually re-read it, but good job anyway, Ithaka.