Wilson spent the summer in the headlines for her takedown of Christopher Nolan’s Odyssey script — a film whose director had cited her translation as an influence. This is the better use of her attention: an orientation for anyone who finishes the Epic and wonders where to go next, a case for returning to the ancient texts, a manifesto on translation. Some scholarly density carries over from the criticism it draws on. But the enthusiast keeps breaking through.
There’s something here for anyone curious about the classics: why Helen of Troy changes shape depending on who’s telling her story; what Aristophanes actually said before generations of translators sanded him down (by way of Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion); why Stoicism is suddenly everywhere.
-Steven, Port Book and News, Port Angeles, WA
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