Rating: 
Summary: A Greek bearing gifts
Review: "The Odyssey" takes up the story of "The Iliad", but not quite from where "The Iliad" ended. Years have passed since the end of the Trojan War, and Odysseus is still absent without leave from Ithaca. A plague of Suitors beset his kingdom (and his wife Penelope). Odysseus' son, Telemachus, decides he's fed up of waiting for his father's return, and sets out to discover what happened to him.In the meantime, Odysseus is making his way back to Ithaca, albeit by a long and dangerous route. Will he make it? Will Telemachus find him? Will they get back to Ithaca in time to save the kingdom and Penelope's honour? The reader also learns more about the course of the Trojan War after "The Iliad" ended. The past is unrolled in snippets, and not in a simple chronological order - the reader, along with the characters, has to piece together what went on as other characters in the book tell of their personal experiences. I thought that this was great stuff - entertaining as an adventure story, at times comic, yet reflective upon universal and timeless problems facing each of us as we struggle with life's vagaries. And of course, there's a great cast list of Greek mythology's baddies - Polyphemus, Scylla and Charybdis, Poseidon and so on. G Rodgers
Rating:
Summary: the zenith
Review: *The Odyssey* is, with the possible exception of the Bible, the most important work in Western literature. It contains every aspect of what it means to be human while presenting us with the most complex character ever created. The fact that his only equals are women should recommend the book even more strongly to today's readers. Since *The Odyssey* is actually the first novel, I prefer prose translations, which also have the advantage of greater accuracy and literalness.
Rating:
Summary: Rieu's prose translation is best for general reader
Review: . I decided to teach THE DOYSSEY (in a college general education course) from E.V. Rieu's prose translation (Penguin) because I am teaching students at a somewhat introductory level and wanted to do the simplest modern translation possible. To my surprise, I found the simplest, after some comparison, to be revealed as the best. For one thing, epic simile in Rieu's translation is not obtrusive, nor is it meant to be. It is meant to familiarize the non-Homeric reader with the Homeric world, not to serve self-consciously as an example of metaphor as such, which is what freshman-English teachers wanting to smuggle a bit of "literature" into their heavy Great Books diet tend to do. A good example here is in the Circe episode when the mountain lions threatening Odysseus' men but drugged by Circe are compared to dogs whining for scraps at their masters' table. Rieu lets the image speak for itself, and perform its rhetorical function, without having it obtrude from the narrative . The fuss that has greeted Robert Fagles' recent translation of the Odyssey is unprecedented--except if one remembers, as I do, that the Richmond Lattimore and Robert Fitzgerald translations were greeted with equal acclaim a generation ago. Both Bernard Knox (who wrote the introduction to Fagles' translation) and Fagles himself speak of Fitzgerald and Lattimore with mild disparagement, while the reviewers, implicitly by their attitude of "Fagles has finally provided us with a Homer for our time" implicitly dismiss Fitzgerald and Lattimore as failures. Yet the funny thing is Fagles, Fitzgerald, and Lattimore are all rather similar. They were all born within twenty years of each other, in the first quarter of the 20th century. Fagles, Fitzgerald, Lattimore all see themselves as tough-minded modernists, Poundian types, hewers to a stringent poetic line, none of this romantic eloquence or any of this "art" nonsense. They are all of the same vintage. Whatever the social and cultural changes from 1960 to n! ow, they have probably not been substantial enough to change the way we see Homer, a poet writing at the earliest 2700 years ago, from the perspective of a senior scholar/translator. Fagles is probably the best of the poetic versions, as he retreats from the extreme Hellenization in some of the others which gave us "Kirke" instead of the more familiar Circe. Fagles also includes Telemachus' rebuke to his mother, telling her to return to the women's quarters and mind her own business. Fitzgerald had deleted this in apparent recognition of the women's movement. I guess you can see Fagles' re-inclusion of the rebuke as third-wave feminism. Anyway, I don't see that Fagles represents anything but a slight improvement over Fitzgerald and Lattimore, and I do not recommend any of the three. If you want a prose translation that preserves both the sense and phrasing of Homer and is good for introductory students and the general reader, than take the E.V. Rieu translation.
Rating:
Summary: Homer's World
Review: A great novel and read after first reading the Iliad, a different story, and the continuing saga of Odysseus' journey. The theme of the Odyssey is that of Odysseus' household dilemma with the wooing of his wife, Penelopia, by would-be marriage mates and his son Telemachos' problem of holding the household together from these men in devouring all the goods. In the end, order, revenge and justice is restored. Both of Homer's novels are beneficial in learning about Greek mythology and I recommend reading Edith Hamilton's book on the history of mythology.
Like its predecessor, the Iliad, this story is two stories, the comic background to the tragedy below, yet in this novel the gods are that much more active in human affairs, half mortals, mortal descendants of and involvement. However, there are relatively few gods that are actively involved in the Odyssey compared to their totality in number.
What really makes this book so inspiring is the gods themselves. The Greeks transformed a world full of fear into a world full of beauty. The gods become human, lovelier and more powerful, immortal, but often acted in a way no decent man or woman would.
Greek mythology is not so much a religion as it is a way of actively dealing in the deeper meanings of life. Nor is the Odyssey a Greek kind of bible. While myths may have real religious meanings, they are more explanations of the deeper answers in nature. And the Greeks transformed a world of nonhuman fearful gods into humanly divine that actively engaged in human affairs.
"Each god, like the men, shows what manner of god he is; and the scenes are full of delicate comedy, which gives the relief necessary for the grim stories. The gods are really the most human of Homer's creations, and there is plenty of variety in their setting." p. 290
Rating:
Summary: Epic
Review: A story that has lasted for thousands and thousands of years. Everone on the face of the earth should read this book. Yes, it is hard to understand, but if you understand the book, then you will realize that it is one of the best stories ever written. It inspires the reader. The story intrigues people world wide. Odysseus is the most famous protagonist that has ever been created. Epic!
Rating:
Summary: An epic odyssey
Review: After so many people have said so much over countless centuries about Homer's "Odyssey," what is left for me to say? In this review I will not so much attempt to review the work itself as the translation. Suffice to say that it is a grand adventure that should not be missed. but average modern readers may miss it, being weary of reading it as poetry or are simply intimidated by its age. If you are one of those people, fear not! W.H.D. Rouse's prose translation brings The Odyssey to the masses with flair. Reading it for school this year, I was a bit apprehensive of it at first, but eager to see what was so great about it. I needn't have been apprehensive at all. The prose reads just as well as modern novels, and the feeling and adventure of the book is well captured. For those who don't know, this is the story of what became of Odysseus after he fought in the Trojan War (which is chronicled in The Iliad.) Several obstacles, including the wrath of Posiden, Greek god of the sea, bar him from returning home, where savage men, under the impression that he has died at war, consume his posessions and woo his wife. Watch as he braves these obstacles with the help of the goddess Athena so that he may return home and punish the insolent wooers. While it's slow to start off, give it time -- at its best, The Odyssey is riviting, and it's obvious why it has been able to stand the test of time and is regarded as a classic. The action is exciting and will leave you breathless, but also there is humanity and real emotion here. All of that is perfectly captured in Rouse's translation, and he brings it accross to the reader with a remarkable strength and deftness. Reading it, it's as if you re being told the story orally (which, as Rouse notes in his preface, is how it was originally intended by Homer), and all of the energy of a live storytelling is present. I commend Rouse for his work, and thank him for bringing me The Odyssey. When you read it, you will, too!
Rating:
Summary: An epic odyssey
Review: After so many people have said so much over countless centuries about Homer's "Odyssey," what is left for me to say? In this review I will not so much attempt to review the work itself as the translation. Suffice to say that it is a grand adventure that should not be missed. but average modern readers may miss it, being weary of reading it as poetry or are simply intimidated by its age. If you are one of those people, fear not! W.H.D. Rouse's prose translation brings The Odyssey to the masses with flair. Reading it for school this year, I was a bit apprehensive of it at first, but eager to see what was so great about it. I needn't have been apprehensive at all. The prose reads just as well as modern novels, and the feeling and adventure of the book is well captured. For those who don't know, this is the story of what became of Odysseus after he fought in the Trojan War (which is chronicled in The Iliad.) Several obstacles, including the wrath of Posiden, Greek god of the sea, bar him from returning home, where savage men, under the impression that he has died at war, consume his posessions and woo his wife. Watch as he braves these obstacles with the help of the goddess Athena so that he may return home and punish the insolent wooers. While it's slow to start off, give it time -- at its best, The Odyssey is riviting, and it's obvious why it has been able to stand the test of time and is regarded as a classic. The action is exciting and will leave you breathless, but also there is humanity and real emotion here. All of that is perfectly captured in Rouse's translation, and he brings it accross to the reader with a remarkable strength and deftness. Reading it, it's as if you re being told the story orally (which, as Rouse notes in his preface, is how it was originally intended by Homer), and all of the energy of a live storytelling is present. I commend Rouse for his work, and thank him for bringing me The Odyssey. When you read it, you will, too!
Rating:
Summary: An epic odyssey
Review: After so many people have said so much over countless centuries about Homer's "Odyssey," what is left for me to say? In this review I will not so much attempt to review the work itself as the translation. Suffice to say that it is a grand adventure that should not be missed. but average modern readers may miss it, being weary of reading it as poetry or are simply intimidated by its age. If you are one of those people, fear not! W.H.D. Rouse's prose translation brings The Odyssey to the masses with flair. Reading it for school this year, I was a bit apprehensive of it at first, but eager to see what was so great about it. I needn't have been apprehensive at all. The prose reads just as well as modern novels, and the feeling and adventure of the book is well captured. For those who don't know, this is the story of what became of Odysseus after he fought in the Trojan War (which is chronicled in The Iliad.) Several obstacles, including the wrath of Posiden, Greek god of the sea, bar him from returning home, where savage men, under the impression that he has died at war, consume his posessions and woo his wife. Watch as he braves these obstacles with the help of the goddess Athena so that he may return home and punish the insolent wooers. While it's slow to start off, give it time -- at its best, The Odyssey is riviting, and it's obvious why it has been able to stand the test of time and is regarded as a classic. The action is exciting and will leave you breathless, but also there is humanity and real emotion here. All of that is perfectly captured in Rouse's translation, and he brings it accross to the reader with a remarkable strength and deftness. Reading it, it's as if you re being told the story orally (which, as Rouse notes in his preface, is how it was originally intended by Homer), and all of the energy of a live storytelling is present. I commend Rouse for his work, and thank him for bringing me The Odyssey. When you read it, you will, too!
Rating:
Summary: What can I say?
Review: Anybody who can give "The Odyssey" negative ratings, except for those criticizing the translation, have a serious brain defect. This is considered one the greatest books ever written, folks. No, I am not a tenured professor of English or anything like that, but to all of those students out there in high school or college, here's a story to which you can relate. I read "The Odyssey" in my sophmore year of high school and hated it. I never thought that a mere three years later I would come to appreciate this great masterpiece as much as I did. In my freshmen year of college I was "forced" to read this book for my freshmen English class and I realized how much I had grown up between the age of 16 and 18. Don't forsake this book. It is a masterpiece that will survive the test of history for thousands of years to come.
Rating:
Summary: What can I say?
Review: Anybody who can give "The Odyssey" negative ratings, except for those criticizing the translation, have a serious brain defect. This is considered one the greatest books ever written, folks. No, I am not a tenured professor of English or anything like that, but to all of those students out there in high school or college, here's a story to which you can relate. I read "The Odyssey" in my sophmore year of high school and hated it. I never thought that a mere three years later I would come to appreciate this great masterpiece as much as I did. In my freshmen year of college I was "forced" to read this book for my freshmen English class and I realized how much I had grown up between the age of 16 and 18. Don't forsake this book. It is a masterpiece that will survive the test of history for thousands of years to come.
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