Odyssey

by Walter Mosley

The Odyssey by Homer. Penguin Books,2003

Genres: Fiction

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Walter Mosley (b. 1952) is the author of the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins, as well as numerous other works, from literary fiction and science fiction to a young adult novel and political monographs. His short fiction has been widely published, and his nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and the Nation, among other publications. Mosley is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, a Grammy, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

[Jonathan K (Max Outlier) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike any other story by this author

In my humble opinion, writers who can successfully depart from their primary genre and deliver engaging stories at or above the same level is the mark of a great author. Walter Mosley achieves this with a tale of a 50 year old, black HR manager who loses his sight due to an unknown trauma. During therapy sessions we learn of his family, disconnection with emotions and more. Falling prey to an unexpected robbery attack, he encounters a young girl poses a double sided situation that ultimately favors a shift. Mosley has tremendous talent for storytelling and having read many of his books, this one stands out. Engaging, evocative and unusual its recommended for those who appreciate character arc, a dab of mystery, touch of crime and the unexpected.

[Andre(Read-A-Lot) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If odyssey is defined by a long and eventful journey, then this novel is aptly titled. The adventure here belongs to Sovereign James, a HR manager who has been implementing a secret social engineering project designed to empower Black people to the point where they can take over the company. The novel opens with Sovereign meeting with a psychiatrist, because he has suffered from hysterical blindness. There is no apparent physical component to this, but for the past 9 weeks, Sovereign hasn't been able to see anything. He has been completely blind.

And through Sovereign's meetings with the Dr., in addition to his own private thoughts reminiscing about his life, we learn a great deal about how he assesses himself. Though he has lost eyesight he has gained tremendous insight. He takes an inventory of his past and is rarely pleased with the contents. Sovereign befriends a young lady named Toni after a mugging and a good portion of the novel deals with their relationship, as she becomes his lover and confidante. Through their conversations and interactions, we're informed about Sovereign's upbringing and his family. The retrospecting into his family, his relationship with his grandfather, his lively live-in-the-moment brother is where this novel sizzles.

Sovereign's sight is returned after a "traumatic" event that, ironically involves Toni's "friend" and subsequently Sovereign wants to set things right in his life. He wants to change his reactions and behaviors to become a better person. The lack of sight has given Sovereign plenty of time to "see" his past and make changes to his present to arm himself for the future.

The usual Mosley humor and suspense are ever present, as well as the sexual prowess of a middle aged man. That seems to a be a recurring theme in Mosley books, effectively making him the hero of every man in that 45-54 demographic. This was a tight and quick read. And as you all know, you rarely go wrong with Mosley.

[Adrian Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

How often do we see our life reflected in a character? How much of our own life do we ever see in another mans story? I think that is what I respect most about Walter Mosley's stories, their capture and portrayal of real life conflicts and struggles. Especially the internal ones. Odyssey uses blindness to help us see, distance to define desire, and the past to illustrate the present - all presented with grim honesty, whit, and some surprise. Well worth the time to read it.

[Ye'Vell Hopkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can never go wrong with Walter Mosley! He’s a consummate storyteller who knows how to keep his readers engaged, entertained and invested in his stories. Sovereign is a man who doesn’t begin to see until he goes blind. A traumatic event restores his sight, but also sends his life spiraling out of control. He is definitely on an Odyssey and trust me, you want to be on it with him!!

[Lisa Horsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sovereign James is a 50-year-old black man who has hysterical blindness, and he doesn’t know why. He gets help navigating this new, dark world from his doorman, a shrink, and a new young female friend whom he sees briefly while her boyfriend attempts to rob this “helpless old blind man”. Sovy is anything but helpless, but he is judging his own life in a negative light. He tells his shrink of his ex-girlfriend whom he gave a glowing recommendation on a whim, not meaning it, and the girl took his words to heart and falsely loves him for it. He is the HR director for a company where he is secretly getting people of color with excellent skills to work there to eventually take over, but his fellow workers think he is prejudiced against them. His shrink says Sovereign thinks of himself as a puppet master.

-“People believe in all kinds of things. That’s why the world is almost always at war.”
-“If people weren’t so damn sure that they’re right all the time maybe we’d talk more and get things straight.”
-“That boat has sailed, brother.” “The world is round. That boat could be coming back to harbor.” - I love this response!

-“The snake is possibly the luckiest of all creatures. He sheds his shin, goes into hiding because his new scales are sensitive, and then comes out into life, leaving behind his old bonds and pains. The snake doesn’t look at the husk and call it a waste. He simply feels the exhilaration of freedom,” says the shrink. “So you’re saying that I’m dragging the past with me.” “I’m saying that there comes a time to let go.” Sovereign kept family secrets in childhood, and needs to reconnect with this family, which he does.

—Interesting family names because grandmother Athena was “brought up on the notion that a black person’s name had to have power or elevation” - sister Zenith and brother Drum (who gets called Eddie), dad Solar, grandfather Eagle (who said Drum could get in trouble standing still on a lonely road alone)

[Beau Stubblefield/Tave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Mosley Masterpiece

Walter Mosley will always be best known for Easy Rawlings I’ve read all of those novels and stories and the fame is well deserved

Read Odyssey or one of his other novels and you’ll see Easy is just the tip of Mr Mosley’s iceberg Odyssey was a page turner, and much more, from beginning to end

[Larry Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not what i expected

I've read at least 20 of his books and this might be one of his best. So many unexpected thoughts in this one and great insights into the human existence with plenty of suspense and drama. It should make anyone reading this story think twice about their own life

A great book and why i always read Walter Mosley

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing writing. I didn’t like the end it seemed to leave things unresolved

[Wayne Woodman]

A clever introspective look at a life thrown out of the norm by a series of events beyond direct control.

[SONIA EVERETT · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy all of Walter Mosley's books and this one was no exception. As in all of his other books the male characters are very well developed but the female characters are not. In this case a young woman was one of the main characters and we don't know much about her background or what motivates her to do what she does.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Downloaded for a couple of bucks, worth the price of a hardback. What is blindness?--that is the philosophical essence of this novel. Plus it had me hooked from the dedication page: Jean Bethke Elshtain was a Larimer County, Colorado gal who made it big-time---as an ethicist. She died just last August.

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting,but took much to long to get through. It's ironic that we see and understand more when you can't "see" at all. The characters were needy and could t see what was right before their eyes. It was a thought provoking story with a big revelation at the end.

[Harley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent Walter Mosley novel. This one is neither in the mystery or science fiction genre. It is a story of a middle age man coming to terms with his life and the choices he made. I enjoyed it immensely.

[Sag2364]

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[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always love Walter Mosley's writing. Great storyline, excellent, tight writing and a nice dose of philosophy thrown in.

[Karen Sandler · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've enjoyed other books by Walter Mosley. This one was not for me. Abandoned.

[Lou Sua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Walter Mosley and this character. I wold love for him to do a book about Drum-Eddie. Sovereign was an interesting character but his brother would make a better read!

[Michelle Wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fairly entertaining reading but I really have come to expect more from Walter Mosley.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best Mosley since The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey.