Son of Nobody

Son of Nobody invites readers to take part in its playfulness, ensnares them with a superb imitation epic, and then slowly shatters their hearts * * Financial Times * *
Ingenious . . . Martel bring[s] a witty freshness to standard elements of Homeric narrative * * New York Times * *
Ambitiously innovative -- ROWAN WILLIAMS * * Observer * *
A powerful meditation on life, death and the vanity of human wishes, all illustrated by a poem that would make Homer proud * * The Week * *
A fun book to read -- NANCY DURRANT * * BBC Radio 4 Front Row * *
Attempting to describe Yann Martel's novels can feel a bit like playing Mad Libs. The beloved Canadian author seems to delight in pushing the boundaries of fiction, creating fantastical worlds that can only make sense in the reader's imagination. It's a high-risk, high-reward approach . . . And yet, in an age of diminishing attention spans and light-lift entertainment, Martel's willingness to take risks - to write playfully without shying away from complex ideas or big questions - feels both rare and valuable . . . Despite all the moving parts, the novel's structure is compelling, and the footnotes offer a clean canvas for Martel's musings on familiar themes of war, such as grief and courage, and larger philosophical questions regarding time and memory, the relationship between the ancient and contemporary worlds, and the interplay between history and myth * * Toronto Star * *
A classical scholar uncovers a lost account of the Trojan war. The translated poem unfolds at the top of the page, with heartfelt footnotes addressed to his young daughter below, in a meditation on mythmaking, homemaking and storytelling -- BOOKS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2026 * * Guardian * *
The first novel in a decade from the author of Life of Pi. A fictional Homeric epic about an overlooked Trojan hero is interspersed with footnotes from failing academic Harlow Donne, who translates the poem for the daughter he has left behind -- 2026 FICTION HIGHLIGHTS * * Observer * *
The 2002 Man Booker Prize-winning author of Life of Pi retells the Trojan war by placing at its centre Psoas of Midea, a goatherd's son and subject of The Psoad, a 3,000-year-old epic that has been rediscovered by a Canadian academic -- WHAT TO READ IN 2026 * * Financial Times * *
The much-loved author of 2001's Life of Pi is back with a new novel. Known for his ability to balance intricate narratives with epic stories philosophical questioning, Martel's Son of Nobody connects the lives of a foot soldier in the Trojan War with an academic who has abandoned his family life for his studies. A beautiful story about what we can learn from the past when it comes to homesickness, grief, love and ambition -- THE MOST HYPED BOOKS WE CAN'T WAIT TO READ IN 2026 * * Elle Magazine * *