The Odyssey
“Read if you like: Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation, artificial flavors, avoidant behavior, wondering what a ‘lifestyle’ is and whether you have one.”
- Molly Young, The New York Times
A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by The Millions • A Best Book to Read in April by Town & Country and The AV Club • One of 2022’s Best Beach Reads by Southern Living
From the prize-winning author of Supper Club—a debut novel that Voguecalled “Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitter meets Donna Tartt’s The Secret History“—comes The Odyssey, a fresh twist on the epic journey and an unapologetic takedown of capitalism and “lifestyle” that will appeal to fans of Melissa Broder and Ottessa Moshfegh (Molly Young, New York Times).
ISBN
9781638930068
Language
English
Page count
240
Edition
Hardcover
Sale date
April 26, 2022
Dimensions
5.5 x 8.25
About the Book
A Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by The Millions • A Best Book to Read in April by Town & Country and The AV Club • One of 2022’s Best Beach Reads by Southern Living
From the prize-winning author of Supper Club—a debut novel that Voguecalled “Stephanie Danler’s Sweetbitter meets Donna Tartt’s The Secret History“—comes The Odyssey, a fresh twist on the epic journey and an unapologetic takedown of capitalism and “lifestyle” that will appeal to fans of Melissa Broder and Ottessa Moshfegh (Molly Young, New York Times).
Ingrid works on a gargantuan luxury cruise liner where she spends her days reorganizing the gift-shop shelves and waiting for long-term guests to drop dead in the aisles. That is, until the day she is selected by the ship’s enigmatic captain and self-appointed lifestyle guru, Keith, for his mentorship program.
Encouraging her to reflect on past mistakes, Keith pushes Ingrid further than she ever thought possible. But it isn’t long before Ingrid’s unwavering devotion forces her to reckon with the dark underbelly of life on the sea, and the surrealist absurdity of work itself.
“A serious vibe . . . a slyly poignant satire.” —Cosmopolitan
“Tantalizing.” —Booklist
“Deliciously unpredictable.” —Mateo Askaripour, author of Black Buck
“Startlingly unique and beautifully written.” —Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face
“Deeply unsettling and unexpectedly moving.” —Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility
Reviews
“Read if you like: Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of Rest and Relaxation, artificial flavors, avoidant behavior, wondering what a ‘lifestyle’ is and whether you have one.”
“Utterly sharp, slyly humorous, and at times devastating in its courageous attempts to make sense of extreme loneliness. The Odyssey is a wildly original dystopian satire about the desire and struggle to forge human connection and the craving for some semblance of progress and order when one’s life has fallen apart. Startlingly unique and beautifully written.”
“Deliciously unpredictable . . . an entertaining examination of work, the lengths we go to feel a sense of belonging, and how difficult it can be to navigate the ever-shifting seas of friendship and love . . . I have never read anything like this, which is a testament to Lara Williams’s craft, as well as her fearlessness in diving into the more absurd, cringeworthy, and downright uncomfortable aspects of life.”
“This strange, beautiful cruise liner of a book interweaves a biting sendup of corporate, work, and wellness culture with an astute exploration of the emotional icebergs that lie below its protagonist’s placid exterior . . . deeply unsettling and unexpectedly moving.”
“Tantalizing . . . Readers who enjoy Melissa Broder and Ottessa Moshfegh will appreciate this surreal trip through a troubled woman’s psyche.”
“Takes the reader on a memorable journey.”
“Vivid and compulsive . . . an addictive and intriguingly dark (if not profound) take on an ancient narrative.”
“Big news: We already found your summer 2022 reading pick.”
“Couldn’t stop reading . . . Original and intriguing, I’ll be digesting this one for a while.”
“An intriguing twist on the epic voyage.”
“An unflinching and razor-sharp satire exploring consumerism and the monotonous life of a disturbed and directionless woman working aboard a cruise ship. The Odyssey is a bleak and biting ride, with pitch-black humor and a progressively off-kilter protagonist. Reading it is a disorienting experience, with a hallucinogenic feel that becomes increasingly sobering as Ingrid nears closer and closer to her home: both on land, and within herself. Absolutely brilliant.”
“The Odyssey is a rueful antiheroine’s journey full of dynamic absurdity that left me shell-shocked and clamoring for a higher page count. Supper Club catapulted Williams to the top of my (very short) must-read list and The Odyssey cements her place in the echelon. With its propulsive plot and macabre humor, the book is a fantastic send-up (takedown?) of modern life’s knack of leaving us always craving more, more, more. If she keeps this up, I will follow Williams into the bowels of hell. Possibly lower.”
“Perceptive, enigmatic and thought-provoking—I couldn’t put it down. Wonderful!”
“This subversive satire on consumer capitalism and the millennial search for meaning is darkly comic existential fiction at its best.”
“A fever dream . . . Williams succeeds in satirising the seemingly unmockable: the overwhelming absurdities of modern life.”
The Odyssey Limited Edition Box
To celebrate our first ever book release, we’re giving away one of our custom limited edition THE ODYSSEY boxes on Instagram.
Lara Williams
Lara Williams is the author of A Selfie as Big as the Ritz, which was shortlisted for the Republic of Consciousness Prize, the Edinburgh First Book Award, and the Saboteur Awards, and longlisted for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize. She is also the author of Supper Club, which won the Guardian “Not the Booker” Prize and was named as a Book of the Year 2019 by TIME and Vogue. Lara Williams lives in Manchester and is a contributor to the Guardian, Independent, Times Literary Supplement, Vice, Dazed, and others.
