Son of Nobody | An Evening with Yann Martel, author of The Life of Pi

Join a discussion on “Son of Nobody” by Yann Martel, a novel that moves between ancient Greece and modern academia. The book centers on The Psoad, a reconstructed Greek epic in free verse that follows Psoas of Midea, a goatherd’s son who leaves his family to fight in the Trojan War.

In the present day, a Canadian scholar studying at Oxford uncovers fragments of the poem and becomes its sole translator. As he interprets the text, he begins to find personal meaning within it, addressing his daughter through notes and commentary tied to the ancient narrative. The novel shifts between the plains of Troy and contemporary Oxford, examining how stories are preserved, translated, and reinterpreted over time.

Martel, known for “Life of Pi,” brings together mythology, history, and literary analysis in a work that explores authorship, memory, and the relationship between past and present.