Blackout Odyssey

by Victoria Feistner

All Mallory needs to do to get home is travel across Toronto in a straight line - How hard could it be?

But in this genderbent retelling of Homer's Odyssey set in the 2003 Northeastern Blackout, nothing so simple can ever go according to plan.

Before even boarding the shuttle bus in the east end, she manages to piss off the supernatural, getting a mystical bounty placed on her head. Before long, she's navigating a haunted department store that exists out of time and space, giving dating advice to the lord of the underworld, dodging Russian mobsters and Toronto raccoons, and staging acoustic battles of the bands. All while in a broken pair of heels, just trying to hail a ride--or even find a working pay phone--before the hussy across the hall makes a play for her boyfriend Dylan's affections (and home-cooked meal).

200 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2021

About the author

Victoria Feistner is a writer, graphic designer, and artisan in equal parts, although some of those parts are more equal than others. She lives in Toronto with her partner Lilithe Bowman and their two jerks cats.

She lurks and cavorts on twitter @vfeistner and appreciates Loki gifs sent her way, particularly during NaNoWriMo binges.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is SO up my alley, it’s not even funny. And I LOVED it. The bare bones description goes like this: during the 2003 Northeastern blackout, our protagonist Mallory has to make it home from a business presentation on the complete other side of Toronto. Which, if you aren’t familiar, is a giant, giant city. With no power anywhere. Like you do. And because this is a gender bent retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, things go weird, quickly.

Feistner grounds the story with a wonderful main character, making Mallory relatably exhausted, desperate, and yet resourceful, tenacious and spunky, someone who you can see yourself in, be proud of, and cheer on. And the transitions between the mundane world and the supernatural flow beautifully, signalling the shift clearly without breaking stride, and keeping the momentum of the tale. And what momentum! I could barely put the book down, and enjoyed every second of it.

In her journey across town Mallory passes by so many iconic landmarks, so that anyone even vaguely familiar with Toronto will recognize some. Much of the action happens in the Annex, though, and I got a special thrill from the attention to details, as I’ve lived in the neighbourhood for more than a decade. So I whooped with glee at the tiny references, like the name of the street I happened to bike along yesterday on my way out to meet a friend for gelato.

The novel is a love story to Toronto, and a love story to the Blackout — and the wild stories held by everyone who lived through it. Feistner does a beautiful job weaving it all together, transforming Odyssey mainstays into Torontonians (and totally realistic ones at that, if you know, you know), but you don’t need to be familiar with the Odyssey to enjoy the epic journey Mallory undertakes to get home to her boyfriend.

[Danielle Vuong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book about Mallory’s extremely adventurous day during the Toronto Blackout, which I definitely remember. This felt like a dream or nightmare-I am not sure which. I could definitely relate to lines like “You have friends, good ones, but as each of you partner up, marry, have kids, the wedge goes wider and the times when you’re all in one room grow wider and wider.” It was also great to read a book with so much Toronto scenery in it, from Scarborough to Etobicoke and in-between. I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen between Mallory and Dylan.

[Riley S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the story line and plot arc of this book.
I think it’s very creative but keeps familiar elements.
I really enjoyed how there is some magic/fantasy elements but they aren’t overdone, it really feels almost real.
My only small gripe is that personally I didn’t enjoy how there parts from Dylan’s perspective were written using a second person POV, there is nothing wrong with that and those sections are still very readable just taste wise I didn’t like it.

[James Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

A modern retelling of the Odyssey, except instead of getting back to Greece from the Trojan war, the main character has to get herself across Toronto during the great power blackout of 2003, and she's lost her TTC card! It is a really fun read, full of laughs, and it has a very real-life 2003 vibe, but with a pinch of the supernatural to complicate things. I highly recommend it.

[Lori Zuppinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Think I would've gotten more out of this if I'd read The Odyssey...

[MissMaj · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny, light read. Brought back memories of the 2003 blackout.