On Wine-Dark Seas: A Novel of Odysseus and His Fatherless Son Telemachus
After 20 years of war and wanderings, Odysseus, hero of the Iliad and protagonist of the Odyssey, returns to Ithaca to face his greatest battle: regaining his place in civil society. Penelope bitterly questions his claim of seven years’ helpless enchantment by a beautiful nymph. His son deeply resents his long absence. Everyone doubts his tale of a one-eyed Cyclops. He left with a thousand men and returned alone. “What kind of leader does that?” grieving families demand. His default of storytelling, scheming, and God-shaming doesn’t play well on an island impoverished by his choices.
With Telemachus as the primary voice, Crawford explores the complex psyches of the traumatized characters who populate this ancient tale. Both idolizing and deeply resenting his father, Telemachus expresses himself in multiple series of questions, each suggesting different views of his character. The final effect is more analytic than dramatic and can reduce our emotional connection with Telemachus.
There are scores of characters identified in a 13-page glossary. Some will be familiar to readers up on Greek mythology, but many not. Checking the glossary becomes tedious. Maps of ancient Greece and the wanderings of Odysseus are helpful, and a long essay shows how Crawford interpreted classical archetypes and symbols. Elegantly written and richly nuanced, On Wine-Dark Seas connects us with the struggles of heroes and anti-heroes whose 2700-year-old story in many ways reflects our own.
