From The Chicago Tribune, "Resourceful Traveler" column:
Scott Huler, a regular contributor to National Public Radio, became obsessed with Homer's wandering epic, The Odyssey, and set out to retrace brave Ulysses' storied journey from Troy to Ithaca by whatever means came to hand. An expectant father, he condensed the classical saga of a 20 years foray into a modern journey of just six months. Huler's narrative begins rather as Homer's began, in medias res (in the middle of things) when the author reaches Malta in search of the cave where the nymph Calypso held Ulysses captive for seven years. Like Ulysses, Huler is far into his Mediterranean voyage at this point, weary and anxious to get home. But unexpected adventures and revelations waylay Huler here, as they do at other stations on his Homeric pilgrimage, from the Isle of Cyclops to the strait between Scylla and Charybdis where Huler must paddle a kayak between those mythic monsters. His latter day odyssey turns out to be neither mythic nor heroic, but for the most part bare-boned and rough, with a reliance on buses, boats, trains and small planes—basically a backpacker's ramble from cheap digs to cheap digs. Yet each of the 18 stages of Huler's largely improvised trip brings an illumination, often personal, which the author connects to Homer's poetry and to the larger meaning of Ulysses' mythic perambulations, translating an ancient odyssey into a modern quest that is by turns daunting, humorous and instructive.
From Strand Bookstore
Scott Huler is forty-four years old and has his first child on the way. He's also obsessed with the ancient Greek epic "The Odyssey." Feeling a deep connection to Odysseus, Huler decided that the only thing to do before middle age and parenthood took hold was to relive his journey. Faithfully retracing Odysseus's every step, from the ruins of Troy to the island of Ithaca, Huler set forth on a six month voyage that would change his life forever. "No-Man's Lands" is the story of Huler's journey and rumination on Homer's classic text. Compelling and thoroughly inspiring, Huler's latest is a brilliant follow-up to his acclaimed book "Defining the Wind."
From Booklist:
[star] In 2001 the author, an NPR contributor, learned that you really shouldn't say certain things on the air—like, for instance, that you will never read James Joyce's Ulysses. Because devotees of the book might challenge you to give it a fair try, and you might wind up rereading the epic poem that inspired Joyce, Homer's Odyssey. And then you might find yourself in the Mediterranean, retracing Odysseus' voyage from Troy to Ithaca. Well, that's what happened to Huler, anyway, and it's a good thing, too: not only did he develop a new appreciation of a classic piece of literature but he also found a new side of his own character: not only a husband and a father but also a lone traveler on an epic journey. It sounds a little artsy-fartsy, but Huler tells the story in a breezy, entertaining style, deftly mixing historical and literary backstory with what happens on the road, making us laugh while introducing us to places we've never seen and people we've never met (but with whom we somehow feel connected). Recommend this one highly to fans of adventure memoirists like Bill Bryson and Tim Cahill.
From Kirkus Reviews
Responding to The Odyssey's siren song, NPR contributor Huler (Defining the Wind: The Beaufort Scale, and How a Nineteenth-Century Admiral Turned Science into Poetry, 2004, etc.) retraces that ancient journey around the Mediterranean. Fierce curiosity is the sharpest tool in this writer's kit, and its keen edge is evident everywhere here. Indeed, some subjects exert a Charybdis-like pull on Huler, who can quickly fall into a vortex of all-consuming research. But his account of peregrinations in pursuit of Odyssean sites is generally entertaining and often illuminating. Most chapters feature a brief summary of a particular episode in the epic (fortunately, not always delivered in the same fashion) and then an account of his endeavors to locate its setting. Trying to catch trains and ferries, finding food and lodging, even communicating could sometimes be frustrating, but then a serendipitous travel experience-like the little boat that took him and him alone to the Sirens' islands-made it all worthwhile. Huler isn't embarrassed to admit to spending time in the land of the Lotus-eaters looking for Star Wars locations – the movie was shot in Tunisia – and he's quite funny when he imagines Odysseus's e-mail ("P: War over-remember my horse idea? Worked!"). Along the way he delivers a few shots at "nicotine-stained Eurotrash" and complains mildly about being on a cruise ship with 200 versions of his grandmother, but for the most part he is a generous spirit, interested more in his own pursuits than in condemning those of others. Huler writes with a profound informality (the Cicones give Odysseus "an ass whipping") and sprinkles his tale with allusions to Scooby-Doo, jackalopes and Law & Order, but he also delivers scholarly mini-lessons on Homer's identity and the oral tradition. Far from crashing on the rocks, he returns from his voyages of discovery with much knowledge and – no surprise – a sharper appreciation for native grounds. Part travelogue, part lit-crit, part self-discovery, part paean to home – and all in all, a most fantastic voyage.
No-Man's Lands
Click here to see Scott's own photos of his epic journey.
Click here to see Scott's well-traveled copy of The Odyssey.
