Where Three Roads Meet: The Myth of Oedipus

by Salley Vickers

Book Overview

In the latest retelling of the world's greatest stories in the Myth series from Canongate, the highly regarded novelist Salley Vickers brings to life the Western world's most widely known myth, Oedipus, through a shrewdly told exploration of the seminal story in conversation between Freud and Tiresias.

It is 1938 and Sigmund Freud, suffering from the debilitating effects of cancer, has been permitted by the Nazis to leave Vienna...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1847670180
• ISBN13: 9781847670182
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: Canongate Us
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 7.7"

Customer Reviews

Intriguing premise, well executed

I am a sucker for the revisitation of old myths in new ways. Whether "God's Behaving Badly" which put the Greek Gods in a London flat, "The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break" where we find the monster is still alive and working as a short order cook, or Atwood's retelling of the Iliad and Odyssey from the perspective of Odysseus's wife in the wonderful "Penelopiad," I love reading authors riffs on these stories of my youth. With that disclosure, I cannot help but recommend "Where Three Roads Meet," Sally Vicker's creative and thought provoking work on Oedipus, the myth the complex, and the play. At first glance, the premise appears both odd and in certain ways obvious. As Freud lays dying of mouth cancer, he is visited again and again by the blind prophet Tiresias. As the father of psychoanalysis slowly and painfully succumbs to his illness, the Greek ghost tell his life story, with a particular focus on the story of Oedipus. Critiquing Freud's theory, Tiresias examines the myth from different perspectives, wondering over various characters motivations and possible willful blindness, even as the dying genius must face his own morality. One should note, that this novel is not for everyone. Composed entirely of dialogue between these two characters, it at times reads almost like a play, and a rather "talky" one at that. Readers unfamiliar or uninterested in the original Greek story and plays and/or uninterested in the history of psychoanalysis may feel the urge to put it down. In my reading, however, Vicker's has done a wonderful job, both in showing a remarkable depth of knowledge in her subject matter and offering it for consideration in an entirely fresh way. If you are inclined to choose to stand where three roads meet, you are sure to enjoy the view.

Modern Myths

The previous reviewer has encapsulated the actual story so perfectly that there is absolutely no point in going over it. Salley Vickers is a very erudite writer with very obvious connections to the world of psychiatry and her prose in this book is brief and to the point, but I cannot say that I ENJOYED this book as it would take someone with a much deeper understanding of the subject than I have..I'm simply not up to it! I acknowledge her cleverness and writing skills so gave it five stars but was rather glad to finish the book.