Reviews
Another positive review
"Brilliant, Funny, Nostalgic, Scientific - A Perfect Blend of Philosophy, 'Dead Poets Society,' and 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'"
Starred review on Kirkus!
"Heartbreaking and hilarious" -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
First review, on BookLife
"Alive with mad inventions, scientific breakthroughs, a wicked sense of play....Lovers of thoughtful, humane science fiction steeped in weird science will feast..
[A] thrillingly inventive novel of growing up the son of a mad scientist."
Deconstructing the Iliad
I only recently read Homer’s Iliad in full. Like many people, as a child I became fascinated by Greek and Roman stories of gods, heroes, and monsters. But the translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey I picked up were so awkward and off-putting I quickly lost patience and put them aside.
A few years ago, my wife and I bought the new translation by Emily Wilson of the Odyssey, and over the course of many nights read it aloud to each other. (Early in our marriage we picked up the habit of reaching aloud to each other in the evenings, and keep an eye out for suitable texts.) More recently Wilson has translated the Iliad, and I decided to finally read it—though silently, to myself.