4 Great Books to Read After Watching The Odyssey

If you saw Christopher Nolan's blockbuster hit The Odyssey and want more, I've got you covered! These four books (well, three books and a trilogy) expand and deepen Homer's epic world and the people who live in it.

In no particular order...

Troy by Stephen Fry

Stephen Fry's not only the best Jeeves (yes, I will die on that hill), he's also a very talented writer. In Troy, he goes deep into the Trojan War and into the city itself, going all the way back to its founding and all the mythical messiness involved that made the war inevitable.

He somehow manages to keep a story with dozens (if not hundreds) of characters manageable, and his wry wit make this an immensely enjoyable, even breezy read. The way he writes these all-powerful gods and goddesses as a bunch of whiny, squabbling siblings is hilarious!

Circe by Madeline Miller

It seemed like for a while there everywhere you looked there was a queer, feminist, or female-focussed retelling of a classical Greek myth or story, and Madeline Miller is probably the fairy godmother of that whole genre, producing first The Song of Achilles and then Circe, to wide acclaim.

I'll admit, there were things about Circe that genuinely bugged me, but there's no denying Miller is a fantastic writer who gives the enchantress some much-needed depth (much as Samantha Morton does in the film!).

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood knows a thing or two about writing books where women are dealing with the restrictive, challenging, hostile world made and ruled by men. She rewrote a classical story from a woman's point of view before it was cool, giving us a Penelope who's far more complex and interesting than Homer's limited version. Atwood's creation is wily, funny, sometimes a bit mean, and jealous of and annoyed by her beautiful cousin, Helen. She's a real, multifaceted person, in other words.

Even her handmaids, somewhat reviled by Homer for taking up with Penelope's parasitic suitors, are more rounded in Atwood's hands, acting as a Greek chorus, adopting different song styles throughout, and revealing just how hostile this time and place was for women at all levels of society. She manages to pack a lot into a fairly slim book - it's really a novella, and I think I read it in an hour or two. So, if you're after a quick read that still has plenty of depth to it, I'd recommend this one.

The Women of Troy Trilogy by Pat Barker

Yes, all right, I know I said four books and this is three, but it's hard to choose just one. If you're after something that takes place at roughly the same time as the Odyssey's action, check out the third book, The Voyage Home, which focuses on Cassandra as she's brought back to Mycenae by Agamemnon as a living war trophy. But I do recommend you read all three.

The books focus on the women captured from Troy and surrounding city states during the war and given to various warriors as prizes. The first book, The Silence of the Girls (GREAT title!) is about Briseis, who becomes Achilles's concubine and has to adjust quickly in order to survive in her new life. This drive to survive continues through the second book, The Women of Troy, which takes place just after Troy has fallen and the victors are preparing to return home.

All of the books are about women caught in the most dreadful circumstances, having witnessed loved ones die before being taken as prizes. It's a moving depiction not only of the brutality of the time, but also how these women find ways to survive, thrive, and form communities of support.

So, there's my list - What would you add to it? What books about the Trojan War have you loved? Drop a comment, I'd love to her from you!