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"Phil Cousineau always notices what nobody else does - a sure sign of a sharp writer. His odyssey through the Odyssey uncovers new sights at every site."
- Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events
A fresh, modern companion to Homer's Odyssey that illuminates its timeless lessons on change, resilience, and the search for home.
For nearly three thousand years, Homer's Odyssey has captivated audiences with its tale of Odysseus's perilous return journey after the Trojan War. In The Wisdom of the Odyssey, mythologist Phil Cousineau distills the epic into twenty-four chapters that mirror Homer's original books and connect their lessons to our own lives. Readers follow Odysseus through his ordeals and changes of heart, as he's sustained not only by cunning and grit but by love for his wife, Penelope; his son, Telemachus; and his homeland, the island of Ithaka. In his delightfully strange world of monsters, tricksters, and sorceresses, Homer reveals what it means to be human. Timed for release with Christopher Nolan's much-anticipated film adaptation, this volume shows how Odysseus's enduring story is more relevant than ever, and how it can guide us toward perseverance, meaning, and a richer inner life.
"Phil Cousineau always notices what nobody else does - a sure sign of a sharp writer. His odyssey through the Odyssey uncovers new sights at every site."
- Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events
"If there is such a thing as a world soul - an anima mundi - it would address our times in something like Cousineau's voice."
- Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions
"If our common human story is a journey of exile, ordeal, and homecoming, then the account of Odysseus is arguably the single narrative that best incorporates the self-deception, moments of temptation, endurance, cunning, resilience, and abiding will to survive that characterize our species. Homer's account is timeless because, no matter what changes in cultures, the human psyche is timeless. Phil Cousineau's introduction of and road map to the wisdom of the Odyssey brings us both learning and re-cognition as our archetypal ancestor seeks his path home. If character is fate, then we all have much to remember, much to learn, as we try to make our way through the Symplegades of our lives."
- James Hollis, PhD, Jungian analyst and author of The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife
"Phil Cousineau is my go-to for mythic reveries. His encyclopedic knowledge of Homer is astonishing, and The Wisdom of the Odyssey is destined to become an instant classic. This is a book I will read again and again and be the better for it. It's a revelatory work and a fitting tribute to this story, which has endured for millennia and will continue to do so."
- Brenda Knight, author of Women of the Beat Generation
"Phil Cousineau makes his word stars flow with new versions of a howling chaos and poetic cosmos. Everything he writes is imaginative and brilliant. His syllables float with fun, fire, and mischief. Beware. Once you read his reflections on Homer's Odyssey, you will be captured forever. He paints his word pictures of the epic poem with surprise and wisdom. His words glow."
- Willis Barnstone, author of The Poetics of Ecstasy: From Sappho to Borges and African Bestiary
"One of the great tragedies of our time is the relegation of Homer's Odyssey to university Classics departments, which are winking out, one by one. In his brilliant new book, The Wisdom of the Odyssey, rooted in a lifetime of reflection, Phil Cousineau reverses this trend by creating a manuscript that brings Homer alive in the twenty-first century. Cousineau concisely recounts Odysseus's epic journey chapter by chapter, concluding each with a luminous précis. Careful contemplation of Cousineau's work awakens in readers the life wisd
- Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events
A fresh, modern companion to Homer's Odyssey that illuminates its timeless lessons on change, resilience, and the search for home.
For nearly three thousand years, Homer's Odyssey has captivated audiences with its tale of Odysseus's perilous return journey after the Trojan War. In The Wisdom of the Odyssey, mythologist Phil Cousineau distills the epic into twenty-four chapters that mirror Homer's original books and connect their lessons to our own lives. Readers follow Odysseus through his ordeals and changes of heart, as he's sustained not only by cunning and grit but by love for his wife, Penelope; his son, Telemachus; and his homeland, the island of Ithaka. In his delightfully strange world of monsters, tricksters, and sorceresses, Homer reveals what it means to be human. Timed for release with Christopher Nolan's much-anticipated film adaptation, this volume shows how Odysseus's enduring story is more relevant than ever, and how it can guide us toward perseverance, meaning, and a richer inner life.
"Phil Cousineau always notices what nobody else does - a sure sign of a sharp writer. His odyssey through the Odyssey uncovers new sights at every site."
- Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events
"If there is such a thing as a world soul - an anima mundi - it would address our times in something like Cousineau's voice."
- Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions
"If our common human story is a journey of exile, ordeal, and homecoming, then the account of Odysseus is arguably the single narrative that best incorporates the self-deception, moments of temptation, endurance, cunning, resilience, and abiding will to survive that characterize our species. Homer's account is timeless because, no matter what changes in cultures, the human psyche is timeless. Phil Cousineau's introduction of and road map to the wisdom of the Odyssey brings us both learning and re-cognition as our archetypal ancestor seeks his path home. If character is fate, then we all have much to remember, much to learn, as we try to make our way through the Symplegades of our lives."
- James Hollis, PhD, Jungian analyst and author of The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife
"Phil Cousineau is my go-to for mythic reveries. His encyclopedic knowledge of Homer is astonishing, and The Wisdom of the Odyssey is destined to become an instant classic. This is a book I will read again and again and be the better for it. It's a revelatory work and a fitting tribute to this story, which has endured for millennia and will continue to do so."
- Brenda Knight, author of Women of the Beat Generation
"Phil Cousineau makes his word stars flow with new versions of a howling chaos and poetic cosmos. Everything he writes is imaginative and brilliant. His syllables float with fun, fire, and mischief. Beware. Once you read his reflections on Homer's Odyssey, you will be captured forever. He paints his word pictures of the epic poem with surprise and wisdom. His words glow."
- Willis Barnstone, author of The Poetics of Ecstasy: From Sappho to Borges and African Bestiary
"One of the great tragedies of our time is the relegation of Homer's Odyssey to university Classics departments, which are winking out, one by one. In his brilliant new book, The Wisdom of the Odyssey, rooted in a lifetime of reflection, Phil Cousineau reverses this trend by creating a manuscript that brings Homer alive in the twenty-first century. Cousineau concisely recounts Odysseus's epic journey chapter by chapter, concluding each with a luminous précis. Careful contemplation of Cousineau's work awakens in readers the life wisd