In the epic 'Son of Nobody,' Yann Martel gives footnotes a starring role

2026-04-01 · 8 min · 7 entities

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→ references The Trojan War book

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ann Martel’s new novel Son of Nobody contains two narratives: a lost epic about the Trojan War and a personal tragedy that plays out in the book’s footnotes. The two protagon
→ discusses Arts concept

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→ hosted by NPR company

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→ discusses Books concept

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mentioned Arts concept

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discusses Arts concept

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discusses Books concept

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mentioned The Trojan War book

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evidence rules-v5
ann Martel’s new novel Son of Nobody contains two narratives: a lost epic about the Trojan War and a personal tragedy that plays out in the book’s footnotes. The two protagon
references The Trojan War book

0.64

evidence rules-v5
ann Martel’s new novel Son of Nobody contains two narratives: a lost epic about the Trojan War and a personal tragedy that plays out in the book’s footnotes. The two protagon

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mentioned NPR company

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Feed author/publisher: NPR
hosted by NPR company

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Feed author/publisher: NPR

Episode description as stored

Yann Martel’s new novel Son of Nobody contains two narratives: a lost epic about the Trojan War and a personal tragedy that plays out in the book’s footnotes. The two protagonists are Psoas, a common Greek foot soldier, and Harlow Donne, a graduate student who discovers Psoas’ story by chance. In today’s episode, Martel joins NPR’s Scott Simon for a conversation about the author’s decision to give footnotes a “starring role” in the novel and whether war gives his characters a sense of purpose. To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy