“A highly informative memoir that explores Poland and Ukraine; the book should appeal to those who revel in the poetry of intricate prose.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Often lyrical, Ann C. Colley’s personal Odyssey exposes the reader to historical and political facts as well as to other aspects of East European cultures. Her sharp eye for detail, her candor, and her illuminating insights will benefit readers interested in studying and traveling to that part of Europe.” —Regina Grol, Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature, SUNY-Empire State College “Ann C. Colley’s The Odyssey and Dr. Novak brilliantly combines an insider’s perspective with an outsider’s objectivity. She tells an adventurous story of teaching , living, and traveling throughout Poland and Ukraine at a time between the fall of the Soviet Union and the resurgence of the Russian threat.” —Joyce Gleason, Professor of Economics, University of Nebraska “The Odyssey and Dr. Novak is a profound, poignant, and important journey through history, lands, and times too powerful to forget. A Sensory delight.” —Kim Chinquee. Professor of Creative Writing, SUNY College at Buffalo. Author of Oh Baby and Pistol and Veer.

"This is a nuanced, subtle, and luminous reading of a region whose past is full of suffering. Colley only wrote her book after the times veered back towards despair, notably in Ukraine, where the conflict with Russia of the past four years has lost the country not only Crimea and the industrial east but also many citizens' lives. Colley writes with elegance. She has an impressionistic, magpie way of building up her story—a joke here, a street encounter there. [The memoir] is never far away from a considered reflection on where politics is going."
—Times Literary Supplement