In preparation for Christopher Nolan’s new film that comes out July 17th 2026 I just finished reading The Odyssey!
Read on for my impressions of the book, and once I see the movie (hopefully in IMAX on July 17th) impressions of it!

Last year I tried to read the Iliad, but the version I got from Gutenberg was in poem format and just was not feasible for me to understand or read. A couple months ago when I saw that Christoper was coming out with The Odyssey I decided I wanted to read it first and was surprised to find that the version I had downloaded was “prose” format that was not in infernal poem format, but rather normal book format and it was readable (donning flame retardant suit in protection of all greek nerds who are lining up their burning javelins to hurl at me). The story was all so vaguely familiar as I probably read this in 7th grade and our culture is seeped in this hero story, but I really enjoyed it and I am looking forward to Christopher’s epic film (note: Christopher is truly a film maker and not some green screen computer generated affects movie maker so I really think it will be worth seeing in IMAX format). So I will update here after seeing the movie, and in the meantime will go and find a “prose” version of the Iliad to read as well!

Title: The Odyssey
Author: Homer
Publication date: Good question. The oral version is estimated at around the 8th century BCE. The “prose” version I read was by Samuel Butler and first published in 1897.
Pages: 420
Format: ebook
Price: free (Project Gutenberg)
Started:  09/05/2026
Finished: 29/06/2026

My rough notes (careful could contain spoilers):

• Ulysses is detained on a forested island in the middle of the sea by Calypso (daughter of Atlas) who wants to marry him
• Minerva wants to get him home so she goes to Ithaca (his home) to talk with his son Telemachus to give him courage to kick out the suitors who are feasting and leaching off the family
• Penelope his wife daughter of Icarius
• Eumaeus the swinehearder
• Philioetius the stockman
• Argos his dog
• Euryclea his nurse who recognizes his scar from boar on his leg
• King Echetus who kills everyone that comes near him
• quotes:
  • Servants never do their work when their master’s hand is no longer over them, for Jove takes half the goodness out of a man when he makes a slave of him.

Update after seeing the Chris Nolan movie:
The first IMAX showing of The Odyssey by Chris Nolan in Madrid was at 00:01 Friday the 17/07/2026, but being a three hour movie and about 30 minutes from my house I opted for the next IMAX showing in VOSE which was at 14:40. I had thought to be in the cabin and had planned a route down the mountain from there (against traffic), but due to other circumstances I was in Madrid which meant I had to budget in some considerations: (1) friday afternoon traffic (2) “operation salida” traffic (that is people going on summer vacations). Google Maps gave me an estimate of 30 minutes to an hour, so I left home at 13:30 and ignored Google Maps a few times because it was trying to take me on roads I was unfamiliar with, and once I got on the A6 highway I understood why:

It was one of those situations that Google Maps just kept saying I was 30 minutes out, even as time just kept passing. I was quite stressed so I went to put a Bob Marley album to calm me but, found Rage Against the Machine first and that helped quite a bit. One of those amazing albums that every single song is amazing.

In the end I arrived at the theater at 14:35 and was happy to find parking easy and quickly got into the theater in time for the start:

Before I talk about my impressions about the movie, let me give you my impressions about IMAX:
OMG. What an experience. The screen is huge. The seats are huge (each has their individual arm rests so no fighting for elbow resting). The sound is huge (when they were dragging the Trojan Horse you could feel in you bones and the whole room shaking). The matinee viewing I saw cost me 14€ (17€ regular price) which was well worth it.

And here is my first impression of the movie that I transcribed on my way home via a WhatsApp message to myself:

Just got out of watching The Odyssey by Chris Nolan first impressions. I just love the interpretation that Chris did on this. I’m not sure if he got it from the most recent translation that I heard mentioned yesterday or not, but a very interesting take on it. A lot of focus on the the Zeus law (or something like that) where always welcome a beggar because you don’t know if that beggar is actually a god. And then playing into that that Matt Damon’s character who thinks that he was cursed and it took him so long to get back because he had broken that rule by tricking the Trojans with the horse. I also loved the take on how Calypso kept him there on the island for 7 years which was something that just did not make sense when I read the book. Have him been taking Lotus flowers the whole time and it was cloudy in his mind and and then when he finally was able to wake up and remember everything Also like the the take on why Penelope was waiting and and how they did that because that was something super hard for me to to reconcile when I read the book was like I mean why would Penelope just keep waiting with all the suitors eating all her livestock. So all in all I’m just like wow, I think it’s just an amazing amazing movie.

I almost snuck back into watch it again but had other commitments so had to get home. Maybe I can drag my wife to see it.

Thanks for reading and feel free to give feedback or comments via email (andrew@jupiterstation.net).