An odyssey : a father, a son, and an epic
"When eighty-one-year-old Jay Mendelsohn decides to enroll in the undergraduate seminar on the Odyssey that his son Daniel teaches at Bard College, the two find themselves on an adventure as profoundly emotional as it is intellectual. For Jay, a retired research scientist who sees the world through a mathematician's unforgiving eyes, this return to the classroom is his 'one last chance' to learn the great literature he'd neglected in his youth--and, even more, a final opportunity to more fully understand his son. But through the sometimes uncomfortable months that follow, as the two men explore Homer's great work together--first in the classroom, where Jay persistently challenges his son's interpretations, and then during a surprise-filled Mediterranean journey retracing Odysseus' legendary voyages-it becomes clear that Daniel has much to learn, too: for Jay's responses to both the text and the travels gradually uncover long-buried secrets that allow the son to understand his difficult father at last. As this intricately woven memoir builds to its wrenching climax, Mendelsohn's narrative comes to echo the Odyssey itself, with its timeless themes of deception and recognition, marriage and children, the pleasures of travel and the meaning of home. Rich with literary and emotional insight, An Odyssey is a renowned author-scholar's most revelatory entwining yet of personal narrative and literary exploration."--Jacket.
After enrolling in an undergraduate seminar on the Odyssey that his son teaches, Mendelsohn hoped to learn the great literature he'd neglected in his youth. Instead he was presented with an opportunity for a father-and-son philosophical journey, engaging in debates over how to interpret Homer's classic masterpiece. The two then retraced Odysseus' voyages in a Mediterranean journey that helped them overcome long-held secrets, and learn the meaning of home.
Record details
- ISBN: 9780385350594
- ISBN: 0385350597
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Physical Description:
print
306 pages ; 25 cm - Edition: First edition.
- Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf, [2017]
- Copyright: ©2017
Content descriptions
Formatted Contents Note: | Proem (invocation): 1964-2011 -- Telemachy (education): January-February 2011 -- Apologoi (adventures): March-June -- Nostos (homecoming): April -- Anagnorisis (recognition): May -- Sêma (the sign): April 6, 2012. |
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Genre: | Autobiographies. Travel writing. |
Available copies
- 7 of 7 copies available at Evergreen Indiana.
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Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carnegie PL of Steuben Co - Angola | 306.8742 MEN (Text) | 33118000184182 | Adult: Nonfiction | Available | - |
Jefferson Co PL - Madison Main Branch | 921 MEND (Text) | 39391006841637 | Nonfiction | Available | - |
Lincoln Heritage PL - Dale Main Library | 306 MEN (Text) | 70743000155822 | Adult Non-Fiction | Available | - |
Mooresville PL - Mooresville | 921 MEN (Text) | 37323005317717 | NONFIC | Available | - |
Plainfield-Guilford Twp PL - Plainfield | 921 Mendelsohn (Text) | 31208912544691 | non-fiction | Available | - |
Putnam County Public Library - Main | 306.8742 MEN (Text) | 30041002202610 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |
Shelby Co PL - Shelbyville Main Library | 306.874 MEN (Text) | 78731000501707 | Adult Nonfiction | Available | - |