The Odyssey triggers need for classics amongst GenZ

Mumbai:” Tell the old story for our contemporary times”– from the opening verse of Homer’s Odyssey in Emily Wilson’s well-known 2018 translation– is showing to be an actual regulation. As Christopher Nolan’s movie adjustment marches past the 140 crore mark in India, it is likewise motivating young readers to return to the 3,000-year-old impressive and associated classics.

Sales of print editions of The Odyssey crossed 6,500 copies in 2026 (through July 18), more than double the volume offered throughout the very same duration in 2015, according to NielsenIQ BookData India.

On the ground, Mayi Gowda of Bengaluru’s Blossom Book House stated need has actually been increasing because Nolan’s statement of the movie in December 2024. NielsenIQ information reveals sales topping 2,000 copies in between June 21 and July 18, tripling from the comparable four-week window in 2025.

Learn more: Christopher Nolan’s called movies represent approximately 30% of India ticket office collections

The movie’s July 17 India release had an instant effect. “In the week after the movie’s release, orders for print editions grew almost 5x compared to the pre-release duration, with paperbacks driving most of need,” stated Rashi Bahadur, classification leader for books at Amazon India.

Aakash Gupta, CEO of Crossword Bookstores, stated in 2 weeks because the movie’s release, sales throughout its shops “have actually currently tripled.”

Young and starving
Publishers and merchants throughout the board emphasize that the rise is driven by India’s youth and their restored interest in the classics.

“What we are seeing now is readers in their late teenagers and twenties (purchase classics), and this precedes the movie,” Gupta stated. “For the last 2 years we have actually been viewing India’s Gen Z return to the classics by themselves. Nolan’s movie arrived on ground that was currently prepared.”

Budget-friendly paperbacks are the leading entertainers. Penguin’s 499 Black Classics translation of The Odyssey by EV Rieu saw a 10x sales increase, according to Sameer Mahale, vice president sales at Penguin Random House India.

It was the very popular edition at Mumbai’s well known book shop Kitabkhana, its chief running officer Jagath Tekkatte stated.

Academic translations that cost 1,000-2,000 are likewise growing. Robert Fagles’ variation is popular with collectors at Kitabkhana and Blossom Book House while Emily Wilson’s 2018 translation, which Nolan mentioned as a motivation, has actually stimulated such high need that Kitabkhana is presently offered out and waiting for restocks.

Gowda of Blossom Book House likewise kept in mind high need for Stephen Fry’s available retelling.

The rise isn’t restricted to The Odyssey alone, readers who stroll in trying to find it typically entrust to a wider reading list. Mahale and Gupta reported an obvious boost in need for Homer’s Iliad too, while Gupta stated the very same holds true for Greek folklore collections, influenced fiction like Madeline Miller’s Circe and The Song of Achilles, and kids’s folklore.

“When 10 years olds begin requesting Greek misconceptions through Percy Jackson, you have a reader for the next twenty years, not the next 2 weeks,” Gupta stated.

The Nolan result
Mahale credited Nolan for producing a “unusual crossover minute where both brand-new and veteran readers are engaging with the text.” 2026 is becoming a strong one for book adjustments. While Project Hail Mary and Dune “outsold expectations,” The Odyssey is “at a comparable scale and potentially somewhat ahead,” Gupta stated.

Gowda stated Project Hail Mary still ranks initially, however The Odyssey editions have approximately equivalent development.