To understand 2001 a Space Odyssey, you HAVE to interpret it through the Odyssey
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Except the movie is literally named after The Odyssey and Kubrick himself explained why. These invented analogies are just as likely to be right as wrong.
Kubrick and Clarke privately referred to the project as How the Solar System Was Won, a reference to MGM's 1962 Cinerama epic How the West Was Won. On February 23, 1965, Kubrick issued a press release announcing the title as Journey Beyond The Stars.[26] Other titles considered include Universe, Tunnel to the Stars, and Planetfall. In April 1965, eleven months after they began working on the project, Kubrick selected 2001: A Space Odyssey; Clarke said the title was "entirely" Kubrick's idea. Intending to set the film apart from the "monsters-and-sex" type of science-fiction films of the time, Kubrick used Homer's The Odyssey as inspiration for the title. Kubrick said, "It occurred to us that for the Greeks the vast stretches of the sea must have had the same sort of mystery and remoteness that space has for our generation."
I think the similarities brought up in the post are interesting but over-interpreted here. Plus, there are many other parts of the Odyssey that don't show up in 2001. The only compelling connection here is the cyclops, but without that the film can still be perfectly adequately understood.
Agreed that the book clears a lot up though. I mean, I totally didn't get the monkey thing without it. For me, the book is a great story, and the film is pure eye candy. And if they could mate the two, it'd be 8 days long.