Stacey Swann

A boisterous, big-hearted, thoroughly modern family saga, in the spirit of Meg Wolitzer's The Uncoupling or Curtis Sittenfeld's ELIGIBLE, in which marriages struggle, rivalries flare, and secrets explode, all with a clever wink toward classical mythology The Briscoe family is once again the talk of their small town when March returns to East Texas two years after he was caught having an affair with his brother's wife. His mother, June, hardly welcomes him back with open arms, and is no stranger to infidelity herself; she's tired of being the long-suffering wife thanks to her husband's many affairs. Within days of March's arrival, someone is dead, marriages are upended, and even the strongest of allies are divided. In the end, the ties that hold them together might be exactly what drag them all down. The Briscoes must reckon with their choices, their capacity for forgiveness, and the confines of family. An expansive tour de force, Olympus, TX combines the archetypes of Greek and Roman mythology with the psychological complexity of a messy family. After all, at some point, we all wonder: What good is this destructive force we call love?

Olympus, Texas

Liyah 🤎

This book had a great premise and great start but it absolutely did not stick the landing! it is not a 1:1 to greek mythos as suggested by the description and reviews. You almost have to do a little digging to see the connections outside of some rather on the nose names like the town itself. The prose is beautiful, and its character work is fantastic in general. There were some characters who's backstories and motivations were rather petty which made them seem one dimensional and unbelievable and unlikeable. Whereas the well written characters are all morally grey, semi-likeable or at least empathetic, some of the characters, particularly the women, are written rather shallow and aren't well rounded so they come off as petty villains instead of complex robust people in nuanced situations. The relationships between the well written characters are heart wrenching and poignant. At first the eccentric pacing and plot timeline worked well for the book. It made what might seem like small town drama feel like a soap opera unraveling, but by the end it didn't pay off and left me feeling unsatisfied. No spoilers but to me there wasn't a happy ending and in a story about family I always prefer happy endings! Preference aside the ending still felt unfinished and felt like the author ran out of pages or something. Not the worst book I've ever read but IDK if I would recommend it to a friend. I do think it's a solid book club read because it will give you a lot to say about the story characters and skill of the writing!

Deyana

This book absolutely blew me away--I devoured it in basically a weekend, and while it went by in a flash like a lot of the plot (I mean, the story literally takes up a handful of days with spliced past explanations), the actions and words (or lack thereof) from the characters will cling to them for better or worse for much longer. 

Of course, for the reader, what seems like never-ending summer humidity will simmer down once the book is put down for a while, but this isn't at all to say this novel is forgettable. As someone with very little knowledge of Greek mythology, it was still reminiscent of tragedies and stories supple with sin and generational issues--stories which tend to be my Achilles heel, anyway. 

On Storygraph I rated this 4.75 stars which might change to a 5 (much easier to change ratings than people), but my hesitations at the moment stem from (1) the pacing--phenomenal bite-sized chapters with a whirlwind plot--and (2) the unsaid--or rather the issues that were not addressed due to the beast of a character/plot development. I think these two go hand in hand; the swift and spliced pacing of chapters, switches of 3rd person point of view, and a twisted but palpable and packaged past for the audience lends to a lot being left unsaid, yet Swann's ability to capture unspoken emotion is incredible. To have this many characters and accomplish what she has is a grand feat, and I'm glad to have been caught up in the dramatics of Olympus like a tourist passing by.

Cheri McElroy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A family drama based on people with character traits like Greek gods? Yes, please. This was a fun ride with great writing and some interesting insight into human nature. I liked it.

Celeste Richardson

The premise and cover of Olympus, Texas immediately grabbed my attention, but I wasn’t expecting anything earth-shattering. I figured I was in for an interesting story that would hopefully keep me engaged but which I would most likely forget about soon after. I was incredibly mistaken. It’s closing in on mid-June, and I can unequivocally say this is the best book I’ve read so far this year. And I started off the year with The Labyrinth of the Spirits, which blew my mind. I can’t believe I found this book even more impactful. Not only was the story excellent and the characters impeccably crafted, this book was a masterclass on the psychology of fictional beings who have been around for millennia without being this thoroughly exposed and explained. I feel like an entire college class could be taught on the Greek pantheon using Olympus, Texas as a textbook. It’s incredible, and it changed the way I think about stories I’ve known for decades. 
“Being family just means we don't have the safety of fences between us.”
The characters in this little novel are weirdly compelling. Less than fifty pages in they already felt more fleshed out and real than some real life human beings I’ve known for years. And that was before I fully realized who they were and what they represented. They are almost uncomfortably realistic in a remarkably short span of pages, and I was honestly in awe of the author’s character craftsmanship. 
“It's much easier to break a thing that has already been broken once. Mending rarely makes it stronger.”
This book managed to feel like equal parts Grecian drama and a vivid image of the American South. It is also a blazingly furious, feminist answering of everything wrong with the world of Greek mythology. And, as stated in the narrative itself, this family is a walking collection of deadly sins; and yet, for all of their flaws and for all the ways they so deeply wound one another, there is genuine love there. The way in which the author mines the psyches of these characters who have been around for millennia and manages to flesh them out so fully is mind-blowing.
“...those absent can feel more present, do more damage, than any warm body in the room.”
I knew going in that this novel was inspired by Greek mythology, but I had no idea that residents of Olympus, Texas would be modern takes on the gods of the classical Olympus. Zeus, Hera, Ares, Hephaestus, Aphrodite, Artemis, Apollo, Athena, Hades, and others are present in more mortal forms, and it was fascinating to pair these characters up with their immortal counterparts. There are also more minor mythical characters littering the narrative, and every single little inclusion was so deftly and subtly crafted that I was awed.
“When people define themselves in comparison to something else, they become that much more committed to never changing their minds about that something else.”
I’ve read plenty of Greek myth retellings, but this book was so different. It wasn’t trying to retell one particular story of give a new take on one particular character. Instead, the story takes these famous faces and couches them in a new setting, but where the same stories play out. Yes, there is a realistic, modern twist to each component, but they’re essentially the same tales that have been told about the Greek pantheon for millennia. And yet it’s one of the most creative books I’ve ever read. One of the things lacking in classical myths is insight into the motivations of the players. Here, the author gives us motivations and insights in spades, and it has changed the way I perceive the original myths. I found the idea fascinating, and the execution utterly compelling. 
“Pessimism wasn't a negative trait for them. It was a way to consistently feel happier, each mediocre event a triumph over potential calamity.” 
It amazes me how effortless every aspect of this novel felt, especially considering how much juggling had to be done to give each of these characters room to shine without changing anything at the core of the gods and goddesses they represented. I was also stunned by how sympathetic the author was able to make characters like Hera and Aphrodite and Zeus, who have always felt so petty and two-dimensional to me. The reverse can be said for deities I’ve always been more drawn to, like Hephaestus and Athena. And the depth of insight on the part of the author is absolutely astounding. I would think she had taken things as deep as humanly possible, and she would blow me away with another little reveal.
“Our reactions to most things are muddier than we admit. Yours don't have to be all good or all evil. They just are what they are.”
Even though this story is perhaps the most fascinating retelling I’ve ever read, it is at its heart an incredibly moving, intricate, heartbreakingly believable family drama that would still be fantastic without the reader having any knowledge of Greek mythology. And it addresses so many questions with both depth and grace. Is bad behavior a product of nature or nurture? Does family bring out the worst in one another? Can selflessness be just as harmful to others as selfishness? Do the sins of the father always come back on the son? Are we doomed to repeat the mistakes of those who came before us? And, to go back to the Greek inspiration behind this tale, how much are women expected to suffer at the hands of the men who supposedly love them? Because every tragedy in this story, whether taking place on the page or in the past, is the product of a man’s lust, or jealousy, or pride. Not that the women aren’t culpable, but the author did a great job harkening back to the mythological source material in this regard.
“If romantic love contained so much foolishness, waste, and want, why seek it out? It seemed a natural disaster on par with a hurricane--one would deal with it only if evacuation proved impossible.”
I loved everything about Olympus, Texas. The setting was believable, the character development was absolutely astounding, and the psychological insights into these timeless personalities will inform my views of them for the rest of my life. While I do feel like this would still be an incredibly compelling family drama for those who have no familiarity with Greek mythology, anyone who shares my fascination with Greek mythology should absolutely not pass on Olympus, Texas. Swann spent twelve years writing this book, her DEBUT NOVEL, might I add, and it really shows. This book is a masterpiece. Full stop.

Olympus, Texas

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