Readers familiar with THE ODYSSEY know that it is the story of
Odysseus's long journey home from the Trojan War. Odysseus outwits
various monsters, witches, and even the gods to win back his
kingdom and rescue his faithful wife from the hands of thieves. THE
ODYSSEY contains lots of adventure, excitement and heartache. It
can also be a challenging read since even modern translations
adhere to its original verse format.

Adèle Geras, whose previous book TROY was a retelling of THE
ILIAD, has now taken on THE ODYSSEY. ITHAKA is the story of THE
ODYSSEY told by those waiting for Odysseus's return. While it
doesn't contain the same adventures as Odysseus's travels, Geras's
treatment of the material lends quiet dignity to the events as told
by an ordinary teenage girl, and fleshes out the story as it might
have been experienced by women. Klymene is handmaiden to Odysseus's
patient wife Penelope. While Penelope spends her days weaving and
waiting for her husband's return, Klymene experiences the changes
that are part of growing up, and does her part to keep Ithaka ready
for the return of a king she has never known.

Klymene begins to understand the difficulty of Penelope's task to
wait "unchanged and unchanging" when she falls in love with
Telemachus, Odysseus's impetuous son. Telemachus only has eyes for
Melantho, a beautiful and treacherous girl from a neighboring
kingdom who has come to serve in Penelope's household. Klymene's
situation is made more difficult by her ability to see the gods,
whose appearance around the household usually signals trouble. She
is also keeper of the household's many secrets, some of which could
mean the difference between life and death for Ithaka's
inhabitants.

Geras adds some interesting twists to an already well-known story,
detailing aspects that are muted in Homer's original. The sinister
arrival of the suitors who plan to marry Penelope and rule Ithaka
is expanded upon in the book. Mocking Ithaka's famed hospitality,
the suitors defile a once peaceful land with greed, rape and
murder, involving Klymene, her family and friends.

Penelope is also allowed some humanity within the confines of her
impossible task. Geras questions the inherent sexism of THE ODYSSEY
by challenging the double standard of Odysseus's infidelity through
the course of his adventures, while his wife Penelope waits
faithfully at home. The conflict Penelope faces in actually being
attracted to one of the suitors makes her wait more poignant.

Geras gives the ordinary events of adolescence --- unrequited love,
outgrown friendships, tense relationships with elders --- a mythic
resonance by associating them with a tale as old and beloved as THE
ODYSSEY. Critics have long argued about whether life in the ancient
world was lived or understood in the same way it is now. We know
some things are very different, like the polytheistic system of
belief prevalent in the ancient world. Lives were shorter. Yet, by
translating the ancient world of THE ODYSSEY into contemporary
idiom, Geras brings new life to a work I first experienced only as
a dull classroom assignment. There is a reason these stories have
survived millenniums and are reinterpreted by successive
generations. After reading ITHAKA, I wanted to return to THE
ODYSSEY and read it again.

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