博客來The King of Ithaca is a liberating, lyrical retelling of The Odyssey through the lens of Private Barrett.
He once believed he was everything he always wanted to be-a star athlete, a devoted husband, and a proud father. But when the adoration fades and melancholy seeps in, he enlists in the army, searching for meaning in the churn of the Vietnam War. What begins as a quest for glory and worth becomes a decade-long exile. Wounded and presumed dead, Barrett finds refuge in a quiet village where he finds a new life-and love-with Liên, a woman who sees the broken man behind the scars.
As his body heals, he must overcome addiction and find his way through enemy lines to start his voyage westward- across an ocean of regret. He doesn’t know what awaits him back in Ithaca: a son he barely knows, a wife he’s betrayed, a life shattered.
Can a man who’s been lost for nearly ten years ever truly be found? Can he be more than a shadow of who he once was- or will everyone see him as the monster he fears he’s become?
Sweeping and intimate, The King of Ithaca is rooted in myth and rich in emotional depth. It is a journey of self-discovery, exploring the bond between father and son and the universal longing to be worthy of love. In the end, it is a story about finding the light we bring to others- and letting it guide us home.
