Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are among the most adapted works of literature—why would two young, debut novelists take on the classics today? Zachary Mason’s The Lost Books of the Odyssey offers a playful and fragmented remix of Odysseus’s long journey home. Told from the perspective of a minor player in the Trojan War, Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles adds new dimension to the Greek heroes. Together at ALOUD for the first time, these young authors discuss the hubris and heart it takes to rewrite a classic with a fresh and contemporary voice.
Presented in association with The L.A. Odyssey Project.
Zachary Mason, author of the novel The Lost Books of the Odyssey, is a computer scientist specializing in artificial intelligence. He is at work on two books for FSG: Metamorphica and Void Star. He was a finalist for the 2008 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. He lives in California.
Madeline Miller grew up in Philadelphia, has a BA and MA from Brown University in Latin and Ancient Greek, and has been teaching both for the past several years. She has also studied at the Yale School of Drama, specializing in adapting classical tales to a modern audience. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Song of Achilles is her first novel.
Molly Pulda is a Provost's Postdoctoral Scholar in the Humanities at USC. She is working on a manuscript about secrecy in contemporary literature and culture.
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