At the start of this novel I could feel my fatigue for the disaffected depressed millennial women genre set in. But as the novel went on and got more nonsensical, weird and fully satire I began to enjoy it more. I like leaving a book thinking "what does it mean?" and on that end this book fully succeeds. However, I think that was the main focus of the novel therefore leaving the characters and story feeling a bit flat.

If you like absurd, bizarre, strange fiction, this may be the pub day pick for you !
The Odyssey is set on a gargantuan cruiseliner called The WA, helmed by the monomaniacal captain of the ship. He is obsessed with the Japanese aesthetic tradition of Wabi-sabi: a concept that celebrates the transient, that accepts decay. Things on board are deteriorating as the reader gets to follow Ingrid, a worker on the cruise ship selected for an employee mentorship scheme rotating through all sorts of jobs onboard unquestioningly accepting Keith’s intrusive and disturbing management tactics as she is pushed further than she thought possible. At times I was feeling like watching a crash mesmerized not able to turn away but not helping either - just watching in fascinated horror. This could have been funny but it is presented in unflinching prose that let’s it get close and almost too real. Even though the cruise ship is a special setting, what happens there is not too far from our life - the idea of a reckless guru just playing with people to see how far they will go does not seem quite so far removed from real life. Neither does just plunging into oblivion and trying to forget real life. The book explores themes of class, consumer capitalism and unexpected voyages.
The audio was well done and mesmerizing.

I could not get into this book. The premise sounded interesting but I ended up DNF'ing at about 20% since the story failed to capture my attention and I just didn't see it going anywhere. Was a bit disappointing. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! What a strange and interesting read! I didn't really know what to expect with this one and I was not disappointed.

As a comment on capitalism and culty workplace culture, this one really resonated. It was also the perfect length for a book like this, this genre is best when it's short and make its points quickly and clearly. Williams certainly succeeded in this regard.

I think this book will be polarizing, but it will be well-liked by folks who enjoy this type of read.

The audiobook was great - pleasant sounding with a good pace.

I'm not sure if this is just an issue with the netgalley app, but every audiobook I've listened to so far sounds like there is a faint echo which makes it harder to listen to at faster speeds (I tend to listen at 2x speed). There were also some long pauses in between chapters and paragraphs, and you could hear the narrator pause catch her breath at some moments.

The story itself was a wild detached millennial romp that reminded me of Search Party as I listened. I loved the slow unfolding of her past as she gets more and more entwined with Keith and the blatant disregard for her own agency as she yearns to be controlled in some ways. Some moments lagged on, but overall found this very unique and a good read!

What a weird and unsettling story. The Odyssey is a quick, compulsive read with a detached and unsympathetic main character. It is fairly cyclical in its days of boredom and nothingness - apt for the point the author is making, but not as entertaining as the synopsis makes it sound. The setting and characters are semi realistic, but with enough off or downright wrong elements to create an uncomfortable dreamy haze of a story. The narrator uses a bored tone that feels appropriate but does require some initial adjustment. This is a book that requires the reader to do a little work - the parallels are there, though most are not blatantly obvious.
I found the whole book interesting - albeit not necessarily enjoyable.

Very unique and fun book to get you out of your reading slump. I thought the characters were odd and likable and the plot was strange and endearing.

I loved this book. It's so weird, but in a really great way. If you're a fan of books like The Vegetarian by Han Kang or the film Synecdoche, New York (or most Charlie Kaufman movies), you would absolutely love this book too, The main character, Ingrid, has lost her identity and come unhinged. She replaced having a home life or personality with becoming one of the functioning parts of a high end cruise ship. Her boss tells her he sees something in her, and she feels more and more connected to the boat as she gets a combination of mundane and much more involved tasks. A takedown of consumer capitalism, reflecting on finding all your worth in meaningless jobs, looking for belonging, and it was darkly funny, The whole time I wasn't expecting the next turn, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the audiobook arc

This was fantastic! The Odyssey is darkly funny and thought-provoking. Although I enjoyed the premise of Supper Club, I felt like Lara Williams linged on the surface. With The Odyssey, Lara Williams commits completely, this novel feels more direct and purposeful.

The Odyssey follows an unhinged, depressed, alcoholic Ingrid who works at the gift shop on a luxury cruise line. She’s got that classic dry british humor and is fumbling aimlessly through life until she gets tapped for a special mentorship program run by the ships ecentric captain. The program pushes Ingrid to reflect on her past mistakes while indoctrinating her into a cult like wabi-sabi way of life.

Things start getting weird, Ingrid’s personal and professional life falls apart and the days she gets to disembark from the ship become less exciting to her. Much like Odysseus from Homer’s The Odyssey, Ingrid is wandering at sea trying to find her way home, or more specifically, trying to find her way to herself.


Highly recommend to those who like unhinged/unlikable female protagonists, especially if you liked My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. I loved this so much, I am definitely going to pick up a physical copy when it is released so that I can reread and annotate.

I didn't hate this book, but it didn't really give me anything. My favorite aspect of the story is that it was extremely odd. However, I didn't get anything from the character/characters, didn't find it exceptionally funny, and the setting was not as compelling as I was expecting. Overall, this was very meh for me.

Thanks to the publisher for this ARC audiobook,

This book was not for me. The narrator was good, I just didn’t really care for the story. Another review called it wickedly funny but I didn’t find that to be true. There were interesting parts, cults always fascinate me, but overall, just wasn’t really my cup of tea.

Ingrid works on a cruise ship, has a couple close friends she plays a strange game with sometimes, and is chosen for a special program where she tells stories about her life to her boss, Keith. She seems both haunted by and completely ignorant of her life before working for the WA. I went into this book completely blind, and halfway through I was still wondering what it was about. I expected the story to somewhat parallel Homer’s The Odyssey, but this one was completely unique. The satire and the message of the story became clear at the end, and I loved every minute of it. I didn't identify with Ingrid and often wondered what the heck she is thinking, but I wanted to know what happened to her and loved the ending.

This was a nice change of pace for me. I enjoyed it. Overall, it is a quirky book with an eccentric main character. You could say this type of novel is an acquired taste. The experience of reading this book more about being symbolic, poignant and thought-provoking than it is to tell a story or sweep you away.

As it is, I love unusual/flawed/eccentric/quicky characters, so Ingrid was a delightful match for me. I also am fascinated by "cruise culture" and wish there were more books about the crew on cruise ships. (I find those mini societies deeply fascinating).

LOVED the narrator.

I . . . just didn't get this. Maybe it was too subtle for me, maybe it just doesn't work, but . . .


Review copy provided by publisher.