Olympus, Texas

A Novel

By: Stacey Swann

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick!

A bighearted novel with technicolor characters, plenty of Texas swagger, and a powder keg of a plot in which marriages struggle, rivalries flare, and secrets explode, all with a clever wink toward classical mythology.

For fans of Madeline Miller's Circe: "The Iliad meets Friday Night Lights in this muscular, captivating debut" (Oprah Daily).

The Briscoe family is once again the talk of their small town when March returns to East Texas two years after he was caught having an affair with his brother's wife. His mother, June, hardly welcomes him back with open arms. Her husband's own past affairs have made her tired of being the long-suffering spouse. Is it, perhaps, time for a change? Within days of March's arrival, someone is dead, marriages are upended, and even the strongest of alliances are shattered. In the end, the ties that hold them together might be exactly what drag them all down.

An expansive tour de force, Olympus, Texas cleverly weaves elements of classical mythology into a thoroughly modern family saga, rich in drama and psychological complexity. After all, at some point, don't we all wonder: What good is this destructive force we call love?

©2021 Stacey Swann (P)2021 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

Center for Fiction’s 2021 First Novel Prize nominee

"There is a surplus of buried hurt and unspoken disappointments within the Briscoe family. It may be difficult for these characters to realize their flaws and tangled desires, but it sure is pleasurable to read about them.... I experienced the characters’ grief and regret as if they were my own." (New York Times Book Review)

"The Iliad meets Friday Night Lights in this muscular, captivating debut that reimagines Greek myths in a backwater east Texas town. The abrupt arrival of a ne’er-do-well son disrupts the fragile balance amid a family plagued by erotic trysts, broken promises, and social envy. Readers will thrill to Swann’s classical allusion." (Oprah Daily)

"The antics of the gods on Mount Olympus would rival the plot of the most salacious soap opera. Swann moves the action to East Texas and the back-stabbing members of the Briscoe family, combining ‘Dallas’-style narrative juice with literary panache and a classical pedigree." (Los Angeles Times)

"Fans of mythology will enjoy spotting the tragic parallels between Swann’s characters and the Greek and Roman gods.... Swann’s prose is deeply descriptive and her characters heartfelt, but it all boils down to whether anyone in this family can get past their selfish feelings, unrestrained passions and bottled-up anger long enough to forgive each other." (BookPage)

Loved It

It was family drama like no other The love of family and it's complexedies just reeled me in. It was absolutely enthralled.

Simple truths slowly revealed

I loved the voice of the narrator, perfectly matched to the story, a simple yet complex telling of family dynamics, frailties, and realizations. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I rarely rate an audible book with 5 stars in all categories.

Crowded

This is an ambitious book for the author. The story was good, but it was very long and drawn out. If you decide to listen to this one, make a chart as soon as you begin so you do not get lost in figuring out whose child came from a married couple and whose children are the products of extramarital affairs. Vacker seems to sacrifice character development to the twists and turns of plot. She shows us what people do, but not who they are.
The narrator used a number of gruff voices which we are supposed to associate with different men. Once again, hard to do since they all sound the same. If you enjoy multi-tasking and superficial reading, this one is for you.

Good family and rural Texas drama with interesting storyline.

Good family and rural Texas drama with interesting storyline. I didn’t like the voice of the reader as she did not have a good rural Texas drawl, and she had the same voice for all female and male characters! Would have been a lot more interesting with that.

Based on Roman mythology

The characters of the book are based on gods from Roman mythology. I really enjoyed matching the characters with their god. This is in part by the characters’ name, and by their actions.

I find myself in the minority.

This book got lots of hype all over the various social media platforms,
but I was thoroughly disappointed. It dragged on, the characters
all melded together for me, and I had an awfully tricky time
keeping everyone straight.
I also found that I didn't much care what happened to them,
and that is rare for me, I can usually find something redeeming
in a character.
Sad I wasted a credit on this one.

Southern Family Drama

I read Olympus Texas by Stacey Swann because it made it to the Top 10 list for 2021 on a few book reviews I follow. While I would not say it was anywhere close to ending up in my top 10, it was a good quick read with a compulsive story line and a good ol' healthy dose of Southern family drama. I'd probably give it 3 1/2 stars because I do recommend it. There is a lot of dysfunction going on with this "yours, mine, ours, and a few more of yours" family scenario that plays out on multiple levels between all the siblings and parents. I did appreciate that there was a fairly big shocker tossed in about midway through that really elevated the story out of it's potentially deep melodrama trough. Overall, it was well done and I would say if you are looking for a little bit of multigenerational family drama broken up by a fairly shocking plot bomb, this is the story for you.

I love Texas BUT

Too many characters, t ok many jumpy time periods, not a great plot stream of thought, not my favorite

Well worth the wait bravo Stacy Swan

I happen to hear about this book and see the author on good morning America. I was intrigued when she said it took her 15 years to write the book. Again I say bravo. Stacy Swan held my interest throughout the entire book.I am waiting with anticipation for her next book.

Slow

I did not care much for the store. It seemed plotless and very slow. However, there were some real truths to the story, such as the hypocrisy and claustrophobia of small town living combined with the annoyances and resentments a family with many unlikable characters.