Reviews

The Odyssey by Lara Williams

dan_c's review against another edition

3.0

Adding to the canon of millennial ennui - with inevitable comparisons to Melissa Broder, Ottessa Moshfegh etc - Lara Williams' The Odyssey is a surreal nihilistic journey.

When cruise ship worker Ingrid is accepted into a revered employee training program, the manufactured reality of her life at sea begins to crack. As memories of her past begin to evade her time aboard, and the program asks for more than an understanding of wabi-sabi, Ingrid's world becomes to deteriote along with everything and everyone around her.

There's a hypnotic quality to Williams' latest work, drawing you in with a sense of intrigue and utter discomfort. I am yet to read Lara William's much-praised Supper Club but The Odyssey certainly has me wanting to explore more of her work.

----------

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC in return for an honest review.

ashleymoen_'s review against another edition

5.0

A strange satire that starts off normal and escalates into insanity! I read this in 2 days it was so weird I could not put it down and I had to figure out how it was going to end. As the main character tries to escape her past by working on a cruise liner, she gets accepted into a program that begins to seem more like a cult than a mentorship.

Insanely good- forcing my mom to read so I have someone to gush about this book with

miaheartsbooks's review against another edition

4.0

Lara Williams follows up the excellent Supper Club with a strange tale of a woman working on a cruise ship, desperately trying not to remember something from her past and completely submerging herself into her work and it's cult-like leadership programme. Contains some brilliantly wtf moments, a critique of the gig economy, and a great analogy for how work can take over our whole experience of ourselves. A wild ride of a novel.

anthea_christie's review

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

helloroci's review

4.0

This is going in my “what the fuck did I just read?” pile and I loved it. 

jujujulia's review against another edition

A strange and somewhat disturbing story; I enjoyed the buildup, not so much the „resolution“, I felt like the story could have gone further.

_noaaa05_'s review against another edition

1.0

Madre de dios a ver. Me compré este libro en Italia por dos razones:
1. Se llamaba la crociera y yo

dracovulpini's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

harri_w's review

dark funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

robinjayschneider's review against another edition

4.0

I’m not even sure how to articulate why I enjoyed this so much. Definitely reminded me a lot of My Year of Rest and Relaxation so that could play into it. An absolute fever dream of a novel and ya that good reads score makes sense bc I can’t imagine this being anything other than polarizing.