Three Rings

If you can get away with describing a book, rather than a person, as “multi-hyphenate” — then this is it. Three Rings is not one thing — it is non-fiction, it is fiction, it is philology, it is historiography, it is a memoir, a philosophy work, societal commentary, and most of all a work about how we tell stories. If that last sentence was confusing but enticing to you, then you will want to read this. Very few and far between do you read a book in which you are actually experiencing a feeling of something “new.”

Mendelsohn is also a hell of a writer. He is the definition of an author who doesn’t waste space. He is exceptionally, almost maddeningly well read, with a lateral sense of thinking that weaves together patterns across hundreds and thousands of years. Reading the book, even through it is quite short, is not the easiest task. Mendelsohn is one of those people that is so smart, so capable of seeing and interpreting the world in an entirely different, qualitative way that is indicative of a world-class philosopher, that it also will come off as a bit frustrating. You will need to read a few sections over and over before realizing that he has jumped you around through 5 or 6 topics in a single page.

I myself will have to probably return to this book many times over before really getting every reference, every concept. I can say, however, that at least one of the concrete take-aways that I got from this was a new way to look at Homer and the Odyssey. I am excited to re-read it with him in mind.