Oedipus on the Road

Oedipus on the Road is a unique, stunningly beautiful rendering of the journey that leads Oedipus from Thebes to Colonos -- and from a world of exile to one of legend. This is the chapter.that Sophocles never wrote, the redemptive passage of the fallen, blinded king to his final -- this time glorious -- encounter with destiny. Bauchau finds Oedipus stranded outside the walls of his former palace, eye sockets and soul still bleeding, and leads him through a geographical and spiritual landscape littered with physical, artistic, and mental rites of passage. It is a triumph of erudition folded into a dazzling feat of textured and lyrical storytelling reminscent of Mary Renault, Umberto Eco, or Roberto Calasso. The "crowning glory" (Libre Belgique) of an impressive career, Oedipus on the Road has been translated into seven languages.