Short story: Review: "Calypso's Guest" by Andrew Sean Greer

Calypso's Guest by Andrew Sean Greer
Published August 2023 via Amazon Original Stories

In this twist on The Odyssey, a man alone on a planet wants for nothing—a veritable army of robots does his bidding, creates just about anything he could ever ask for, can build and rebuild the world to his specifications.

But: he's been there for centuries, alone, and he can never leave. He'll be there for centuries more. And it's only when someone else crash-lands on his planet that he gets a brief—and doomed to be temporary—respite.

Though it spans some seven years—and stretches beyond those years—this is a short story, and I would have read and read and read. By the time we meet the unnamed narrator, our Calypso, he is resigned to his fate; he has found a certain peace in his prison, but it is a prison nonetheless, and he has long since lost interest in exploring its boundaries or seeking (a futile) escape.

There's a certain hopelessness to this story—in the narrator's resignation, and in the futility of his hope that he will no longer be alone. I imagine it will frustrate some readers, but if you can sit in that futility (it took me a while to understand why he would not have bothered to explore the rest of his planet, his prison), it's a fascinating read. The narrator's exact circumstances are not always detailed (presumably he cannot be killed, but can he be injured? How badly? Are there any creatures on his island that he must fear?), but it does make one thankful for mortality, no?

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a review copy through NetGalley.