I was fortunate to have read an early version of Olympus, Texas and have eagerly anticipated its final version since. Author Stacey Swann populates her novel with characters loosely based on Greek gods but with a Texas twang. Olympus, Texas is an insightful look at how one family’s fortes and foibles divide and unite these contemporary mortal versions of the unpredictable Greek gods. Despite their ancient origins, these characters are brooding, complex, and contemporary. You don’t need to know the ins and outs of Greek mythology to become engrossed in this family saga.
March (Mars) Briscoe returns to his home in East Texas after being on the lam for two years. He left when his affair with his brother’s wife Vera (Aphrodite) is exposed. After spending this extended time in New Mexico, he’s realized he’s only complete in Olympus, Texas with his family.
He visits his parents, but June (Hera) his mother doesn’t seem glad to see him, but then, she’s never taken to her youngest son. March’s father, Peter (Zeus), is a serial philanderer, and June sees those same traits reflected in this child. March always been difficult as his temper flares to the extreme and he becomes violent, yet has amnesia about what occurs, the results of intermittent explosive disorder.
June loves Peter and has put up with his womanizing though his sexual escapades have led to three illegitimate Artie (Artemis), Arlo (Apollo), and Burke) on top of his three legitimate children Hap (Hephaestus), Thea, and March.
Despite being determined to make things right, within hours of returning, March again beds Vera. From there, a series of calamities besets the Briscoe family, all occurring within the space of a week. Someone is killed, marriages are overturned, and even the strongest of family allegiances holding the Briscoes together are shattered.
Structurally, each day of this god-awful week is laid out in its own section. Some chapters have epigraphic quotes from Ovid. Rather than worry about where to place backstory, Swann takes a unique approach and plugs it into “Origin” chapters, such as “The Origin of March’s Exile.” The sense of place is wonderful. You can hear the rush of the river, the birds sing, and the frogs croak. Swann’s prose is elegant, lean, Texan, yet universal with some very lovely turns of phrase. This book will definitely make it to some “best of 2021” book lists.
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