The Long Goodbye

Daniel Mendelsohn doesnt hold back. As a bestselling author and venerable contributor to a myriad of respected periodicals, his is frequently the voice of literary criticism, an analytical mind that is often called to peer into the works of others. However, he has found that his personal narrative, when funneled through the lens of whatever subject might catch his fancy, is what has kept his readers coming back to him. While his revelations and thoughts might have fueled much of his seven books, the work isnt for the sake of revenge. He respects boundaries. He does his homework and facts are checked. A noted memoirist, hes already written two focusing on sexuality and family and for his third, An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic, released in September, he turned his attention to two men who have influenced a large portion of his life: Homer and his own father.

We met on a quiet afternoon at his publishers office. Given his thundering insights and titanic reputation, Id expected a self-consciously grand academic don. Instead, though dapperly dressed, hes completely unpretentious in his button-down shirt and khakis. Hes talkative without a hint of snobbery and is quick to smile.

An incredibly prolific writer, Mendelsohns rsum boasts regular contributions to both The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books. His explosive family history, The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, won the National Books Critics Circle Award and the National Jewish Book Award, as well as a throng of other accolades around the world. For such a man, a fundamental understanding of ancient literature can unlock a bevy of possibility. The revelations and thoughts of the central characters of Homers The Odyssey serve as portals to a deeper understanding of contemporary relationships.

His latest book had an unusual origin. In early 2011, when preparing to teach a freshman seminar on The Odyssey at Bard College, he was approached by his father, Jay, with a surprising request: the gruff, 81-year-old research scientist asked to audit the class. Their relationship had always been complicated. Mendelsohn recounts childhood incidents of emotional withholding and cagey reticence between them. He agreed, of course, and his fathers attendance kicked the course into high gear. A molotov cocktail in the classroom, Jay declared Odysseus to be anything but a hero, constantly pointing out the ancient heros lies, infidelities and tendency to weep. And the other students ate it up.

I love teaching freshman, said Mendelsohn. Their responses are often very instructive because theyre really authentic. Theyre enthusiastic and dont have an agenda. My father replicated that dynamic. He was a very sophisticated person, but he didnt have an agenda either.

Both men were thrust into foreign territory with each other. There were instances of discomfort, confusion and tension. But the experience ushered their relationship into a new era. They regularly had meals together. Jay would sleep over in a bed hed built himself, decades earlier, that was now ensconced in Mendelsohns upstate New York home. But the voyage didnt end there. When the younger man decided to take an Odyssey-inspired cruise across the Mediterranean, his father joined him. Starting in modern day Turkey, they toured places throughout Greece associated with the events of Homers epic.

Ever the scholar, Mendelsohns memoir carefully unpacks details from the source material, with the author taking the stance of a vigilant observer. Witnessing his fathers guileless rediscovery of the ancient text, his lifes work as a classicist is turned on its head.

The notoriously intimidating majesty of Homers Odyssey goes beyond the essentials of well-rounded reading. The thorny journey toward understanding and forgiveness embroidered into Homers work is echoed by what Mendelsohn lays out in his own story. Its as though, at least in part, hes has cast himself as Odysseus eager son Telemachus. We find him embodying the archetypal child searching to know and understand his father.

I asked him about this and his angular jaw clenched. He shifted in his chair for a moment as he considered his response.

It seems clear to me that its just as much about fathers and sons as anything, he mused. The whole epic is bookended by father/son activity.

Studying (and essentially mirroring) Homers legendary work allowed both the Mendelsohn father and son to find new dimensions for their love for one another. While the events of An Odyssey conclude with Jay passing away, the vibrant stamp he left behind on his son is evidenced by the profundity of the memoirs 320 pages. Its an epic reconciliation, albeit a quiet one, focused on all that hed been given by his father, brimming with longing, heartbreak and ultimately a compassionate out-breath, celebrating their mutual love and respect.

Im always trying to remind people that the classics are classic for a reason, he said. They are always true, always illuminating of life.

An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic is available for purchase here .

For more information about Daniel Mendelsohn click here .