A wine-dark Western?

The latest issue of The TLS features a diverse array of fiction, including Amit Chaudhury’s *Chateau Rouge*, Donal Ryan’s *Where the Kings*, and a collection of art-focused novels exploring subjects from Goya’s protégé to Victorian asylum life. A central focus is Christopher Nolan’s cinematic adaptation of *The Odyssey*, which Oxford Professor of Poetry A.E. Stallings analyzes as a modern Western that deliberately departs from Homeric tradition while maintaining thematic consistency. The discussion highlights the film's unique characterizations, such as a pragmatic Penelope and a reimagined Circe, while acknowledging the omission of the poem's more brutal elements. The episode concludes with poet Sam Riviere reading his new work, "Warm War," a piece emerging from dream-like imagery that reflects on contemporary urban landscapes and cultural decay.