Reporter Clare Mulroy shares bookish news and recommendations.
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Clare Mulroy | Books Reporter
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Happy Thursday, booklovers!
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It’s time to talk about the Trojan horse in the room: “The Odyssey” is here and storming up controversy. Christopher Nolan’s star-studded, action-packed film is all movie buffs and book lovers can talk about.
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This week, Emily Wilson, the first woman to publish an English translation of "The Odyssey," chimed in on the debate. While Nolan said he sourced many editions to write his script, he specifically cited the opening line of Wilson’s.
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From the jump, this piqued my interest. Wilson’s translation is more humanizing to female characters, forgoing words like “sluts” and “whores” that male translators inserted. Some have called it a feminist translation. How would that fare with Nolan, who has a reputation for writing lackluster female characters? ( Find out for yourself here). In her review, Wilson called the film’s writing “abysmal,” writing in the London Review of Books she “would be ashamed to have written any part of this script.”
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Matt Damon stars as the legendary Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's epic adaptation of Homer's "The Odyssey."
Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures
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But more than a film analysis, what I want to share is what Wilson acknowledged at the end of the review: “The Odyssey” is fueling book sales.
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“In what we are told is a time of declining literacy and the ‘death of the humanities’, translations of The Odyssey, including mine, are flying off the shelves,” she wrote . “Some of those who buy the book or show up in cinemas to watch Tom Holland may go on to study ancient Greek. Perhaps the film will persuade a few college administrators not to cut their literature, language and history departments.”
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Sales of all translations are up 76% this year, according to Circana BookScan |
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Checkouts from e-book lender Libby have increased 217% from this time last year |
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Global listens of “The Odyssey” audiobook on Spotify increased more than 300% |
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This year, Wilson’s translation surpassed a million copies sold |
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In the New York Public Library system, Wilson’s edition accounts for 90% of all print holds |
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Remember last week, when we wrote about the “end of reading”? Here’s another sign that in all areas of pop culture, books endure.
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Leo Lionni handed his granddaughter an unfinished, "high concept" book before he died. Nearly 30 years later, "How to Make Paper Mice" is a reality.
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Becky Albertalli's "Something Unpredictable" will publish next year and features two perspectives and an ensemble of "pining, lovesick mallrats."
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Author Annie Jacobsen explains how biological warfare could unfold, why containment is so difficult and what governments can do to prepare.
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You could win $100 for new books just by reading this summer. Here's how to enter USA TODAY's Summer Book Challenge and win bingo.
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The top-selling titles each week provides book lovers with the most accurate snapshot of what people are reading.
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