The Wanderings of Odysseus
Author: Rosemary Sutcliff
Publisher: Laurel-Leaf/Random House copyright 1995
Copyright: 1995
Pages: 131
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Mythical/Fantasy

Summary: Through a young readers retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, we are able to follow along side of Odysseus the great King of Ithaca on his long voyage home from the war in Troy. Upon winning the war in Troy Odysseus and his men set sail for their home land of Ithaca. Their voyage home, though starting out smoothly and with high spirits, soon makes a turn for the worst. When Odysseus and his men stop on an island and find themselves trapped in the cave of one of Poseidon’s sons, the Cyclopes. Finally, by smiting the Cyclopes in the eye Odysseus and his men escape by tying themselves to the bellies of the Cyclopes beloved sheep. Managing his escape and being reunited with his men Odysseus’s spirits are high and he mocks the great Cyclopes who then plead with his father Poseidon to curse Odysseus for what he had done to his son. It is this curse that leads Odysseus through his many wandering years hoping to one day make it home, back to Ithaca and his family. While Odysseus finally manages to make it back home to Ithaca and his beloved wife Penelope he had to endure many years of waiting and troubles due to the cursing from Poseidon. This book not only retells the Odyssey so that kids can enjoy it, but teaches about Greek mythology along with providing nights of entertainment for those that find themselves lost in its pages.

Who would benefit from reading this?:
This book would be a great book for those young boys out there that think reading is boring, because this book holds all the suspense, gore, and tales of war that boys are drawn too. This book would also be a great read for those that are interested in Greek mythology and fantasy.

What problems/conflicts could this book potentially cause?:
One problem that this book has is, that it has a lot of ore and gore, especially in the beginning of the novel. I myself found it to be rather descriptive and might be one you wouldn’t want young children to read.

My reaction:
Being one who is not drawn in by the world of fantasy, the begging of this novel was a bit over my head and hard to get into. But as I read on, I found myself interested to know how Odysseus found his way out of his many troubles and near death experiences he found himself in. The author does a great job of describing all that is going on allowing the reader to create a picture in their mind of the scene before them. Definitely a book for older kids, but a fun read none the less.