Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has transformed a nearly 2,700-year-old epic poem into America's most sought-after book, triggering unprecedented demand at bookstores and libraries nationwide. According to Circana BookScan data reported by Publishers Weekly, year-to-date US print sales across all editions of Homer's classic have surged 76%, with Emily Wilson's acclaimed translation leading as the bestselling edition.
Bookstores Report Astronomical Sales Increases
At Books Are Magic, the beloved independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York, evidence of the phenomenon sits just inside the front entrance. A display stacked with more than a dozen editions of The Odyssey—from Wilson's translation to graphic novels and children's versions—has been drawing a steady stream of browsers, many from Gen Z who became interested after seeing Nolan's blockbuster.
“We sold 80 copies of just the Wilson book this month,” said Nicole Vasquez, a Books Are Magic employee who helps oversee the store's marketing. “Before, it was single digits in sales.” Just a month ago, the store sold only a handful of copies of Homer's classic, but in July, sales multiplied by several thousand per cent.
Nationwide Demand and Library Surge
The trend extends far beyond Brooklyn's arty scene. WW Norton, publisher of Wilson's translation, said domestic sales across all formats surpassed one million copies by early July, with momentum building since Nolan announced the project in December 2024. Wilson's translation has also remained among Amazon's top 10 bestselling books since the film's release, alongside Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary, another novel enjoying renewed attention from a recent film adaptation.
Libraries are experiencing a similar surge. The New York Public Library reported a 338% increase in demand for The Odyssey across print, audiobook, and ebook editions between 2 July and 30 July. “We've seen a huge jump in demand for The Odyssey over the past month, and are delighted that so many of our patrons are reading and even rereading this epic novel,” said Brian Bannon, the library's chief librarian and director of branch libraries and education.
Beyond Homer: Greek Mythology Retellings Benefit
The renewed fascination has extended to other Greek mythology works. Books inspired by Homer, including Madeline Miller's Circe, whose title character appears in The Odyssey, are seeing increased interest. “There's also retellings that are selling more,” Vasquez said. “Circe has been really popular because of the character in the movie [played to critical acclaim by Samantha Morton], so people want to read more about her.”
Children's Adaptations and New Readers
Booksellers note that the appeal reaches beyond longtime fans of Greek mythology, with children's adaptations becoming unexpectedly popular. “These are newer to the store,” Vasquez said, gesturing towards the children's section that contains its own separate Odyssey display. “They've been selling pretty well. People were reading about Greek mythology who really never cared about it before.”
Yeshim Kayim-Yanko, a colleague at Books Are Magic, said Nolan's film has succeeded in introducing a classic that many readers previously associated only with high school English classes. “It's nice to see people who wouldn't have necessarily picked up The Odyssey normally,” Kayim-Yanko said. “It's bringing light to this classic story. People don't usually gravitate towards it to just read on their leisure. That is what's happening for this film.”
Controversy Fuels Curiosity
Public discussion surrounding Wilson's translation—including her criticism of the film—has only fueled curiosity. “Everybody's just like, 'I want to get the tea, I want to hear the gossip, and I want to read her translation,'” Kayim-Yanko said. The controversy began before Wilson's comments, with some rightwingers rallying against Nolan's casting decisions and predicting the film would flop. “That boycott wasn't really successful, to say the least,” Vasquez said with a laugh.
Scholars Weigh In on Adaptation's Impact
While some rightwingers attacked the film for being too diverse, classicists leveled nearly the opposite critique, arguing that the adaptation loses much of the emotional richness and complexity that has made the story endure. Wilson, who influenced Nolan, wrote that the film “lacks psychological, emotional, political and ethical depth” and had “nothing convincing to say” about the poem's deeper themes of memory, war, family and homecoming. Classicist Mary Beard said on the Guardian's Stateside podcast that Nolan's adaptation underplays many of the poem's strongest women and lacks the poem's “elusive sexiness.”
Yet both scholars correctly predicted what they saw as the film's greatest achievement: inspiring audiences to return to Homer. Beard concluded that Nolan “is doing his best to get the general public reading again.”
Barnes & Noble's CEO, James Daunt, told Bloomberg last Wednesday that “right now, our best-selling book is by an author called Homer.” Vasquez expects the current surge to last another two to three months before settling back toward normal levels, but the impact on Homer's legacy is already historic.
