Son of Nobody

by Yann Martel

From the author of the international bestseller Life of Pi, a brilliant retelling of the Trojan War from two commoners: an ancient soldier and a modern scholar.


Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey were not the only ancient tales of the Trojan War. In Son of Nobody, Yann Martel composes a new the Psoad, an epic in free verse that follows a goatherd’s son, Psoas of Midea, who leaves his wife and family to fight at Troy. Psoas meets his doom and the poem of his life is lost—until a Canadian academic studying at Oxford, Harlow Donne, discovers its relics thirty centuries later. As Harlow assembles and comments on the fragments in footnotes, he retrieves memories of his wife and daughter and grapples with questions of ambition, family, and responsibility in both the ancient and modern worlds. Son of Nobody upends the regal perspective of traditional epics and shows that “the past is never done with, that always there are parallels and returns and repetitions, always the song continues.” Readers of Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles and Emily Wilson’s The Iliad will revel in this breathtaking feat of the imagination.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Canada, Retellings, Historical, Contemporary

352 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 31, 2026

About the author

Yann Martel is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel Life of Pi, an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spent more than a year on the bestseller lists of the New York Times and The Globe and Mail, among many other best-selling lists. Life of Pi was adapted for a movie directed by Ang Lee, garnering four Oscars including Best Director and winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score.
Martel is also the author of the novels The High Mountains of Portugal, Beatrice and Virgil, and Self, the collection of stories The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, and a collection of letters to Canada's Prime Minister 101 Letters to a Prime Minister. He has won a number of literary prizes, including the 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and the 2002 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature.
Martel lives in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with writer Alice Kuipers and their four children. His first language is French, but he writes in English.

Reviews

[Meike]

Okay, okay, lets' check out the new and upcoming novel by Booker Prize winner Yann Martel!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a lover of Greek mythology, I was so excited to receive the ARC of Son of Nobody! This was truly an original novel, both in the structure and the alternative account of The Trojan War.

Rather than the increasingly common retellings, Martel imagines The Trojan War through the experience of a long forgotten soldier; he was no Agamemnon or Achilles, just a man fighting a decade long war away from home. Harlow, the academic that discovers his version of events, is also a long way from home at Oxford. Both men miss their wives and children, but remain dedicated to their cause, to their ultimate detriment.

Imaginative, emotional, and reflective - Son of Nobody is a book I will definitely be purchasing and recommending once it reaches shelves.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

deeply sad meditation on grief and violence, beautiful stuff

[asv:n · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is an epic on its own!

Harlow, a doctoral historian who's specializing in Homer and his epics gets a fully funded research program at Oxford finds out that there existed an epic, parallel to the Iliad, where the protagonist was a man named Psoas, a commoner, son of nobody. A nameless bard tails psoas as he rags over the trojan war. He narrates the story in its dynamics- the blood and sweat lingering in the papyrus.

as Harlow advances through the epic, he finds out uncanny resemblances in his own life. He, a husband and a father, leaving his family and travelling miles away. Psoas, a husband and father, walking into death with no regards. a man with no title, Harlow becomes Psoas.

a warrior and a scholar- two sides of a coin.

with each scroll of papyrus, each stroke of letter, Halow's conscience rushes back to memories, his family. his wife, his daughter. the marriage that's falling apart. the fatherhood that's too passive. When Psoas goes mad with vigor in the battlefield, Harlow goes mad with the numbness of his helplessness in the gothic oxford office. he yearns for his wife, his daughter. a man who's left with choices but too weak to make any.

son of nobody is a refreshing look onto the greek epics, where the heros and gods played roles, Matel made a commoner a character of strength and courage. people mocked Psoas for every inch he stepped onto the battlefield. for every word he uttered, they mocked and degraded him. Psoas contemplated the helplessness residing inside of him, battling strangers, killing the ones that had done no harm. pooling the blood of innocents, kids.
even the kids.

the invisible bard and his tale of Psoas of Midea, Son of Nobody, embarks the inner realms of the conscience of a common man in the battle field, the one's who were played puppets by the power. an epic, it stands as a testimony of the human nature.

too good to be fiction.
and the stark similarities of the epic to the life of Harlow, who sat in that dark room, his hands strolling through the brittle papyrus, as he watched his life falling apart like a shattered sand clock.

i want to talk more and more, but i'll end up spoiling it, and i dont want it.
if you like greek epics, if u r curious about human morality, you must read this!

[Grace -thewritebooks]

Thank you to NetGalley and Canongate Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

A fascinating tragic dual timeline story of all consuming passion and loss. I was curious and a little confused for the first half, enjoying the little snippets into Harlow's life but not really seeing where it was going. And then at the half way mark I suddenly understood the point and felt my heart breaking into tiny pieces for the rest of the novel. I've read the Odyssey (many years ago now) and having a general knowledge I would almost say is essential for enjoying this because it's brimming with intertextuality and a richness of history mirrored into Harlow's present day.
A gem of a book although I will say that putting all the effort into reading 'translated' ancient greek poetry does not have as much pay off as reading the real thing, as cool as the concept is

[Text Publishing]

The following book reviews have been shared by Text Publishing – publisher of Son of Nobody

‘Stunningly imagined.’ [starred review]
Kirkus

‘A beautiful story about what we can learn from the past when it comes to homesickness, grief, love and ambition.’
Elle Magazine

‘An astounding feat of literary imagination.’
The King’s English Bookshop

‘Another staggering and insightful novel of ideas.’
Y! Entertainment

‘Perfect for readers who love history, myth, and philosophical storytelling.’
Art+

[F Kabs · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ Son of Nobody by Yann Martel — 4/5
**Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC**

TLDR:
An inventive, footnote-driven novel that parallels a lost Greek epic with a modern academic’s life. Rich thematic commentary on class and heroism, but the MMC’s personal story and growth feel underdeveloped.

📖 Who Would Enjoy This Book
- Readers who love Greek mythology, particularly those interested in revisiting the broad plotlines and themes of The Iliad
- Readers who enjoy unconventional narrative structures, including stories told through footnotes

The structure of this book is immediately striking. Each page is split in two: the upper half contains a translation of the Psoad, while the lower half consists of footnotes—and it’s within these footnotes that the real story unfolds. I thought this was a clever reflection of the MMC, whose personality is rooted in pedantry and analysis. His dissection of the Psoad—a fictional poem lost to history—is meticulous and detail-oriented, while his reflections on his own life are rendered in broad strokes. Many of his interactions are presented purely as back-and-forth dialogue, with little description or summarization, which further emphasizes this imbalance.

What stood out most were the parallels drawn between the MMC and the Psoad. Much like the poem’s main character, Harlow is portrayed as a “son of nobody”—a man of modest means separated from his wife and child. The arrival of the Greek ships at Troy and the hardships endured by the soldiers mirror Harlow’s arrival in the UK and the difficulties of student life with minimal financial resources. The parallels extend further: Agamemnon and his daughter echo Harlow and his daughter, and even the timing of certain Psoad passages aligns meaningfully with Harlow’s narrative. For instance, the sections dealing with Hades coincide with a major event around the 75% mark of the book.

Thematically, I especially enjoyed the reflections on the socioeconomics of war. The idea that war functioned almost as a social interaction—with its own unspoken etiquette and scripted dialogue—took me by surprise. Even more startling was the notion that men of importance (kings, princes, heroes) only fought one another, while lower-class soldiers were left to battle their counterparts on the opposing side. It felt almost preposterous, yet deeply revealing. It has been a long time since I read The Iliad, and even then it was an abridged version, but this emphasis on social class—and the idea that heroism is reserved for those descended from gods or kings—really stuck with me. The choice to make the bard of the Psoad a commoner was particularly effective, as it shapes the language of the poem and allows the text to question the “truths” presented in The Iliad, making the story more engaging overall.

While I enjoyed the book, I found myself wishing there was more to Harlow’s personal story. At times, it felt like his arc could be summarized in just a couple of sentences, and I wanted more depth. There also didn’t seem to be much character growth: Harlow begins the novel with his head in the clouds, driven by whims and lacking clear priorities, and he ends it much the same way. I would have liked to see more self-reflection and accountability regarding his choices. The ending, too, felt somewhat unresolved, as though not everything was fully wrapped up.

We also don’t learn much about Helen. Beyond knowing that she enjoys stories and can be stubborn—as many children are—we don’t get a strong sense of her individuality. Her likes, dislikes, and eccentricities remain vague, leaving her feeling slightly mysterious, almost reminiscent of how Lemony Snicket refers to the elusive Beatrice in A Series of Unfortunate Events.

[Matthew Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yann Martel's first book in a decade, Son of Nobody follows a Canadian scholar discovering the Psoad, a free verse epic about a common soldier during the Trojan War (2026 is the year of Trojan War retellings!). Harlow Donne leaves his young daughter, Helen, and wife, Gail, to travel to Oxford, where he gets the opportunity to live and work for a year. It is here he finds the Psoad. The novel's structure is simple: part of the invented Psoad, written by Martel, of course, in free verse poetry, and then the subsequent annotations made by Donne. Very Pale Fire. Gradually, his personal life infringes on his footnotes more and more. His marriage is breaking at the seams and his daughter, Helen, is unwell. But he keeps on.

At first I found it light, fun and totally unbelievable. I guess we are reading Donne's 'translation' of the Psoad, but it felt so colloquial and contemporary that I never really believed I was reading a true lost epic from thirty centuries ago. Or at least, Martel didn't pull the wool over my eyes enough. I did not have my suspension of disbelief. As it went on, I also became more attuned to its superficiality. The elements of the epic poem were so clearly orchestrated to be parallels to the events in Donne's life that it lacked any kind of subtlety. Of course, the point of the novel was this very parallel/dual-narrative, but I felt Martel is too heavy-handed here. This is exemplified in the final third. And although I am not religious, the random attacks Martel/Donne makes on the Bible/Christianity/Jesus seem to be bolts from the blue. One minute he is discusses the Greek epic and the traditions of storytelling, and then he will switch it and say something along the lines of, 'And that is why we know the Bible is invented' (though admittedly, this time, with more subtlety than that - though not much!). It felt like halfway through the book Martel decided to also make this into an anti-church/anti-Christianity book. Very strange. Though the one comment he made that did stick to me was his concept of the Bible being an inverted version of The Iliad; he (Donne) argues that The Iliad, on the surface, is full of violence and war, but deep down is a poem about love and loyalty; conversely, he says, the Bible, on the surface, is all about love and loyalty, but deep down is a book with a rotten core of violence and war.

So, fun, but far more superficial than I was expecting. I recommend it, mostly because it kept my interest and I breezed through it, but I was hoping for something a little more substantial and thought-provoking. The ending damaged the book as a whole for me too. In the Guardian recently there was a review of the new Hamnet adaption, and the reviewer called it 'emotionally manipulative'. I've recounted this fact to two separate friends and they both said the exact same thing: 'Isn't that what art is?' I agreed with them. However, ironically, in this case, I would call Son of Nobody emotionally manipulative, or at least trying to be.

Thank you to Canongate for the advance copy for review.

[Stephen the Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

" Time may move in a straight line but memory does not."

"Life is a mater of radiance and simplicity and the challenge of life is to remain within that radiance and simplicity."

Son of a Nobody is Yann Martel's first book since The High Mountains of Portugal. This is an author who won't be rushed and this new novel is obviously a labour of love.

This the story of Harlow Donne - a classicist scholar who has the opportunity to spend a year in Oxford studying ancient fragments of papyrus that appear to be telling the story of the Trojan war but from the perspective of a man called Psoas of Midea. Harlow leaves his family in Canada and makes the journey to begin his academic endeavours; trying to interpret the evidence in front of him the work becomes an obsession.

This is a curious read as it feels in some ways like an academic thesis - sections of the interpreted papyrus are presented telling the story of war- encountering familiar Ancient Greek figures. Footnotes are then provided alongside each piece of poetic prose. But also interwoven are Donne's words and thoughts to his young daughter in Canada; he is creating the story of Psoas so as to recount to her the trials and tribulations of the warrior.

But Donne's own personal quest to make sense of these ancient texts is juxtaposed against the sacrifices made by the common warrior-Psoas. Themes of loss, grief and homesickness come to the fore.

This is not an easy read - perseverance is required as you move between the interpreted poetry to the academic foot notes and then 'love letter' -inner conversation with his distant daughter. The academic approach feels more akin to a factual/non-fiction text and this is the crux of the novel- the ability to switch between voices and forms of text. Donne's words to his daughter were the most accessible and told a story sacrifice made for success.

A fascinating book- a challenge to read working through layers and meaning within .

3.5 out of 5

Thank you to Netgalley and Canongate for the advance copy

[JerrieGayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written, thought-provoking exploration of past and present. Publish date: March 31, 2026.

This contemporary literary fiction novel is a richly layered and intellectually engaging read that weaves together the modern world with the retelling of a Greek epic of the Trojan War. Alternating between present day and antiquity, the narrative is structured in a unique and deliberate way that allows the author to draw compelling parallels between then and now.

The story unfolds through Harlow Donne, a doctoral candidate who uncovers a lost Greek epic told in the first person by Theraites. Unlike traditional epics that center on gods or the ruling elite, this tale focuses on Psoas, a common man, offering a fresh and human perspective on familiar mythic themes. As Harlow pursues an opportunity to further his research at Oxford, his academic ambition comes at a personal cost, forcing him to leave his wife and young daughter behind in Canada.

Once Harlow discovers ‘The Psoad’, he begins piecing it together while addressing his daughter—and, by extension, the reader—directly in a reflective second-person narrative. Through this lens, he explores the idea that “the past is never done with,” emphasizing the cycles, repetitions, and enduring truths found in stories like ‘The Iliad’, ‘Gilgamesh’, and the ‘Gospels’. The novel thoughtfully examines what has remained unchanged across centuries.

Themes of war, grief, relationships, and the personal cost of conflict are explored not through heroes or gods, but through the lives of ordinary people. As tragedy strikes, Harlow continues working, mirroring Psoas’s own choices—decisions that ultimately come at a steep emotional price.

This is a novel that rewards patient, reflective reading and lingers in your thoughts long after the final page.

Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the free digital Advance Reader Copy. All opinions are my own and based on the advanced copy, which may differ from the final published version.

[Janine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrestled with myself reading this book. It was a love-hate relationship often as I grappled with its structure and the retelling of The Iliad (I think it’s all those names I can’t pronounce) and with a character who refused to put fatherhood before scholarship. But by the end I grew to understand the profoundness of the story and appreciate that what you think should be a certain way, doesn’t have to be!

First the structure is the most unique I’ve ever seen. While it’s a story within a story as the author rewrites The Iliad from the perspective of a “nobody,” Psoad, it’s also a story of a scholar, Harlow Donne, as he studies a newly discovered Greek text of this Greek “nobody.” But these are then “divided” by a line as you would find in a history or nonfiction book where footnotes appear. Donne’s story is a “footnote” but is it? Take your time reading each. The poem is rather beautiful but the footnotes are the “meat” of the matter.

Both Donne and Psoad are nobodies. But while society may want to disregard nobodies, they are the predominant figures in it. That Psoad would dare to speak to or take on a person of vaulted stature in Greek society would be reprehensible as would Donne in disregarding the instructions of the Oxford Don, Cubitt, overseeing his sabbatical. This is the crux of the story I think. In the footnote sections, we learn of how both do this and what happens when they disregard the order of things.

Donne’s story is a study in scholarly concupiscence - what is more important: family or job/career? A tragic event brings this question to the fore. While Donne has a deep love for his family (he’s in England and they are in Canada), his choices in regard to them are shallow even though he tries to rationalize his work as a paean to his child. As to Psoad, he shows the same kind of stupidity but his story also represents how time doesn’t change much: nobodies and somebodies haven’t changed much through time.

Finally I was intrigued by the comparison at times in the footnotes between Psoad’s story and Jesus. Jesus came for the common man, which Psoad represents in his “nobodynness”. Our human vanity gets in the way of appreciating that we can be nobody and still be relevant.

Definitely this book is a deep story of “life, death,” grief and how our vanity gets in the way of honesty and meaning.

Thank you NetGalley and Norton for allowing me to read this ARC.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not the biggest fan of the Greek epics and while I studied them in college I haven’t really spent much time thinking about them since - although as foundational to all Western thought they come up again and again.

This novel about an academic discovering a lost story related to the Trojan war was more interesting on the contemporary side of the story than the actual Greek tale he was retelling. For me, at least. At times I just wished the novel had been a more straightforward novel about the academic and his life, his family, his studies, his fate. I’m not sure I really needed the text of what he was discovering - or at least not in such detail. This isn’t the first novel I’ve read using this framing device of academic footnotes. I have never really loved it before, and I didn’t really love it here. It borders on a gimmick.

But what sets this apart is that Yann Martel is an exquisite writer. He doesn’t disappoint in that regard. And the greatest strength for me was pulling together the myths by which we Westerners make sense of the world, namely the myths of the Ancient Greeks and the myths of Christianity, the latter being derivative of the former. As a novel it is maybe so-so, but as a musing on grief, sources of knowledge, and the mental constructs we erect to explain our existence, it is really interesting and rewarding.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Ancient -vs- Modern Tragedy
I tend to gravitate toward richly textured narratives that weave historical fiction with family ties, personal experiences and multi/dual-timeline structures so this novel was a good fit. I also enjoy retellings and I do adore a good story involving the Greek Gods. The novel's blend of an ancient soldier's voice and a modern scholar's scholarly obsession offered a layered, and reflective story dealing with homesickness, regret, and the cost of preserving memories.
Its lyrical free-verse approach and the intimate footnote-like dialogue between past and present echoed contemplative, almost wistful tone while the focus on a commoner perspective adds a fresh angle to a well-trodden epic. If you're looking for a book that enter twines literary craft with a deep, bittersweet meditation on love and loss across centuries, this should be a strong match. Possible drawback is that its slower, more meditative pacing might be off putting and the structure of half pages can be distracting if not completely wasteful. I hope the author decides to publish this as an ebook only, its format being original but such a “Modern Tragedy” for its waste of our natural resources.
3.75 stars for me
Similar inventive formats would be George Saunders Lincoln In the Bardo.

Thank you BookBrowse and W.W. Norton publishers for this advanced copy in return for my honest review.

[Ben Dutton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Canadian novelist Yann Martel returns after a 10 year with a new work, Son of Nobody, which has two strands at a play - that of Harlow Donne, a classicist who has discovered a new epic of the Trojan War and the other strand being his translation of that epic. Through footnotes to the poem, some of which are academic and some of which are personal, we slowly gain a sense of this man and begin to see ways in which this epic story of thousands of years before has mirrors in contemporary life. The footnotes become more urgent as the narrative continues and his daughter, whom lives with her mother, falls ill and Donne is left helpless, alone, witnessing another epic moment of life and it potential tragedies play out.

Son of Nobody will not be a novel for everyone, and those who know Martel only for Life of Pi, might find it difficult to connect with him here, and his intentions. However, if you commit to Martel's conceit, and also have a love for the epic poetry of days gone by, then Son of Nobody will certainly intrigue you, engage you, and leave you with much to ponder. I am certainly glad Martel has chosen to do something different - he could have rested on Pi's laurels - and we should champion fiction which attempts to do something different.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son of Nobody by Yann Martel is a retelling of the Trojan War told through the eyes of two ordinary figures: an ancient soldier and a modern scholar. I teach parts of The Odyssey to high school juniors, and we always begin by explaining that the poem takes place after the Trojan War. Having this background in Greek mythology helped me connect more deeply with the novel and appreciate the layers Martel builds. I especially enjoyed how the modern scholar uncovers myths and then returns to his present life, weaving those discoveries together in a thoughtful way. Readers with little interest in Greek myths may struggle to enjoy this book. My main criticism is the use of numbered lines, meant to echo Homer’s epics. Because my font size differed from the intended format, the line numbers appeared mid sentence and became distracting, such as “but he and his sons did not catch the bitter 200 words exchanged between stuffed mouthfuls of sweet food by the spurned suitors” (Martel 232).

Thank you NetGalley and the publishing house of W. W. Norton and Company for sending this DRC book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

[Emma Quirk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a captivating book and while it's a quick read, Son of Nobody definitely packs a punch. What immediately stands out is obviously the unique formatting. The book is set up so we can watch two parallel stories unfold, one set during the Trojan war and another in the present day world.

The Trojan War retelling is really well done and captures fragments of the "Psoad" a poem about an everyday Greek soldier, Psoas. It brought me back to my Latin classroom when we were translating the Aeneid and I loved all the different perspectives Martel brought into this section. Rather than reading about the Trojan War as it related to the Greek and Trojan heroes, this is the less glorious perspective of a common solider.

While that goes on in the top part of the page, we also are watching Harlow go through his own journey far from home. In the footnotes we get a glimpse into his life and what he has given up to go searching for his own glory and treasure. The Son of Nobody helps serve as a reminder to be aware of what you have (and what you might lose) before you become blinded on a search for more.

Thank you NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the ARC!

[Jacquie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books that ask me to think a little differently, that help me experience the story in a new way. This book definitely delivers this experience. You have the telling of the story of the son of nobody, but you also have the personal reflections and observations of a professor, a grieving father, and a sad husband. I found it to be a profound story of one family’s personal war and grief, against the backdrop of an epic war and the inherent grief it brings to a civilization. The poetry was easy to read and was consistent with what little I know of the Iliad from other readings. There are many phrases throughout which are quite beautiful and I hope the reader will take some time to think about and reflect on those passages for themselves. I finished the book a few days ago and I’ve been reflecting on it ever since. It left me with a sense of unease, but also a sense of wonder.

These ancient stories, told and retold, help us to learn about ourselves and perhaps develop compassion for others.

I received an ERC of this book through #BookBrowse and I enjoyed reading it.

[Kim McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harlow is a classic scholar who gets a chance to study a year at Oxford. While it is a wonderful opportunity it means leaving behind his wife, their young daughter and a floundering marriage in Canada. Harlow throws himself into translating fragments of a lost epic of the Trojan War that features Psoas, a common man and son of nobody. The book is made up of two stories - one being the lost epic of the 10 year war and the second is Harlow's footnotes revealing his relationship to his curmudgeon advisor, his wife Gail and their beloved daughter Helen. I found both to be equally interesting, sad and unique. Yann Martel's view of war based on the whims of powerful men fought by the common man (the sons of nobody) who will never be honored but will suffer loss and that absence does not make the heart grow fonder nor help a troubled relationship. This will appeal to armchair scholars of the classics and those who have enjoyed the retellings of the Greek and Roman mythology and the Iliad . My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

[Sharon Layburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harlow Donne cannot believe his luck when he's offered a scholarship at Oxford University to indulge his love of Ancient Greece, the Trojan War, and especially Homer's epic poem The Iliad. True, he'll have to leave his wife and daughter for a year, but his study immediately seems worth the sacrifice as he discovers pieces of a previously unknown historic epic that sheds new light on Homer's work- adding an everyman perspective that is surely just as worthy as the noble voices previously held in such esteem. The fragments of the formerly lost tale are revealed in the book, which also features elaborate footnotes where Donne analyzes and adds context to the epic- and also reveals events happening in his life as he works on his interpretation. Parallels and insights begin to form, and the deeper readers go into the tale of everyman Psoas of Midea, Son of Nobody, the more they discover about the ordinary but tragic tale of Harlow Donne.

Thank you to W. W. Norton and Company for providing this ARC.

[Madeline Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow!

When Harlow Donne, a Canadian academic specialising in Homeric poems, uncovers the long-forgotten Psoad, a completely new retelling of the Trojan War is uncovered. Rather than having a hero at its centre like The Iliad, The Psoad is the story of Psoas, a common man and the son of nobody.

This isn't just another take on the Trojan War, though. As Donne translates more of The Psoad, his own life is revealed through footnotes which begin as translator's notes but progressively expose more of Donne's own life and the consequences of leaving his wife and daughter in Canada for an academic position at the University of Oxford.

Son of Nobody explores many of the main themes of The Iliad - glory (kleos) and honour (timê), humanity, fate and free will - but it's also an intimate love letter and apology from a father to his daughter, set against the backdrop of the epic Trojan War.

Thank you to Netgalley and Canongate for this eARC

[Margaret C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an original, imaginative and believable story about a classics academic, Harlow Donne, who specialises in the trojan war. He leaves his young family at home in Canada to partake in a funded research project at Oxford University .
Whilst there he becomes convinced that there is a long lost version of events relating to the trojan war from the perspective of a commoner named Psoas, Son of Nobody. He becomes so focused on this, that his own life, and his original brief in Oxford, are literally relegated to footnotes.
While the story of Psoas is no doubt intriguing and very well presented I found myself more interested in the footnotes relating to Harlow’s own life and would liked to have seen that part more developed but perhaps this what the author intended the reader to feel? I don’t want to say too much more in case I reveal too much.
A thought provoking and original read that I very much enjoyed.

My thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for this advance copy.

[Sarah Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Book Browse for the promise that I would review it. The book is based on “The Iliad” by Homer so I am completely unqualified to give a review although I did research the story and the characters.

It is a story within a story. The premise of the book is that an unhappily married Canadian man who is a scholar of Ancient Greek languages and culture spends 8 months at one of the colleges in Oxford deciphering Greek language written on papyrus, leaving behind his wife and eight year old daughter. He finds writings by a common laborer who sailed to Troy with the Greek fleet and was involved in the war for 10 years. The book concludes the Canadian scholar’s return home.

The story of the ancient Greeks was fascinating but I found the current day’s story, which was interspersed throughout the book, to be distracting.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the scrolls of ancient papyrus, a researcher comes across a new name in the classic story of the Iliad.  Expanding on this previously unknown character Psoas, "the son of nobody," he puts together the story of an everyday citizen in the war on Troy.

Alternating between the past and present, the researcher has left his wife and daughter in America in order to focus on the scrolls in England, and his personal life begins to mirror the trajectory of Psoas.  He stakes his future on his discovery being embraced in academia and returning home to America.  Not unlike the Iliad, now morphing towards the Psoad, the ending is not predictable or satisfying.

Intriguing, tragic, and a smart read.

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harlow Donne is a classicist. He revels in narrative and story and this is the story of the time he got a scholarship to Oxford University and discovered a new epic of the Trojan War, as he documents his discovery and shares the story he uncovered he also uncovers the story of his own family and exactly what his achievement cost him. A mix of memoir, poetry and footnotes this reads like the work of a scholar, so when the moments of intimacy and truth appear they are visceral and exciting. Our own reading experience and the gradual uncovering of the story mimic those of Harlow's own discovery. This is masterful storytelling, beautifully handled.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I liked the telling of the battle at Troy from the perspective of a normal soldier. I liked the stories within the battles - the old man and his sides of the table. I liked reading Harlow’s footnotes and relating what he was reading to his life, the wife, troubled marriage and beloved daughter back in Canada. I liked how at least some of human nature was shown to be unchanged over the centuries - love of family and home in particular.
It was easy to read back and forth between the epic Harlow was translating and the footnote and I noticed I was really looking forward to finding more footnotes.

[Danielle]

I am not actually going to rate this book because I had an advanced reader's copy ebook version that did not include the proper formatting that was described at the beginning of the book making it a little hard to read. Thus, I don't feel like I can give it a fair review. I suspect I would not have been super in love with this book no matter what because I am not really into Greek mythology. I definitely would have gotten more out of it if I remembered much of anything about the Iliad and the Odyssey.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book - I've never read anything like it. It's a novel told in Homer-esque verses and footnotes, and the pages are divided in two, with the verses on top and the footnotes on the bottom. Our scholar MC, Harlow, discovers a new tale of the Trojan War, and his life sort of mirrors that of the subject of the new tale, Psoas. This is a great book for fans of Greek Mythology.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book is incredible. Once again, Yann Martel gives us readers something to look forward to. If you enjoy Ancient Greek history, this book is definitely worth picking up when it is published. I look forward to reading more of Martel's work after this.

Thank you to NetGalley and W.W.Norton & Company for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[JXR · Rating 5 out of 5]

lyrical historical fiction that ties a brand-new book that's in-universe found and being put together, telling another Trojan War-era story about an ordinary person, and the footnotes of the analyzer's life. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

[The Page Ladies Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

Son of Nobody completely surprised me with its quiet power—an epic that gives voice to the forgotten and somehow made ancient Troy feel deeply personal and modern. I loved how the fragments and footnotes mirrored how memory works: incomplete, emotional, and impossible to ignore.