Why read Oklahoma Odyssey?

Book cover of Oklahoma Odyssey

Book description

A 2022 Great Group Reads selection

In late fall of 1892 outlaw Eddie Mole gallops down the main street of Jericho Springs, Kansas, where he robs and shoots dead the freighter Barney Kreider. Some urge Barney's son Ulysses ("Euly") to take revenge, but Euly is a Mennonite and Mennonites don't…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Oklahoma Odyssey as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Steve Wiegenstein

Author

As a novelist, I am impatient with books that follow familiar tropes or well-worn storylines.

This book takes a familiar premise – the Western story of a son whose father is murdered by a badman – and turns it on his head, for Euly Kreider, the wronged son, is a Mennonite pacifist who immediately rules out revenge. So where will this Western go?

Every chapter holds a surprise. As the title implies, this book loosely uses the Odyssey as a template for its deep dive into the history of the Oklahoma Land Rush.

From Steve's 3 favorite reads in 2023.