An odyssey a father, a son, and an epic
Presents the story of a father and son's transformative shared journey in reading in the wake of the father's late-in-life enrollment in his son's undergraduate seminar, where the two engaged in debates over how to interpret Homer's classic masterpiece.
| Main Author: | Mendelsohn, Daniel Adam, 1960- (Author) |
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| Other Authors: | Mendelsohn, Jay, 1929-2012. |
| Format: | Books Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Alfred A. Knopf,
[2017]
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| Edition: | First edition. |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: |
Presents the story of a father and son's transformative shared journey in reading in the wake of the father's late-in-life enrollment in his son's undergraduate seminar, where the two engaged in debates over how to interpret Homer's classic masterpiece. "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. |
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| Physical Description: |
306 pages ; 25 cm |
| ISBN: |
9780385350594 0385350597 0345806212 9780345806215 9780771057441 077105744X |
| Author Notes: |
Upon completing his Ph.D. in 1994, Mendelsohn began a career in journalism. In 2005 Mendelsohn was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship for a translation of Cavafy's "Unfinished" poems, with commentary. His other honors include the National Book Critics Circle Award for Excellence in Book Reviewing (2000) and the George Jean Nathan Prize for Drama Criticism (2002). Mendelsohn's academic speciality is Greek (especially Euripidean) tragedy. In 2015 his title The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million made the New Zealand Best Seller List. (Bowker Author Biography) |