The Odyssey

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Summary: I hope they make a sequel to TROY!!!
Review: This is an awesome book, and I think it would be an even better movie. Troy I think, is the best movie I have ever seen. My English Teacher made us watch Troy, and read the Illyiad, and I loved the movie and the book. Although it was not accurate I already knew the story so I dont mind seeing some new twists and turns in the story. But this is also a good book and I would like to see what it would look like as a movie.

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Summary: Another great masterpiece by an ancient Greek slave
Review: This book is another wonderful epic poem crafted by the great Homer. This one outlines Odysseus' troubles getting back to Greece after fighting in the Trojan War. This is a purely exciting adventure story that has captivated generations. Odysseus has become a folk hero in modern literature. It is also a love story that is extremely touching in it's scope. We meet some truly wonderful and horrific characters in this story. Who can forget the one-eyed Cyclops race? The most chilling section for me was when Ulysses descends into hell when he reaches the land of the Cimmerians. This is a grand adventure tale that is truly unforgettable.

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Summary: odyssey
Review: If you haven't read this book you must NOW! It's not only a classical example of greek mythology/legend but it's a gripping epic of overcoming all obstacles to achieve a goal. Inspirational and moving at times, this book is a must for any person who claims to have read "nothing good"

If you want the briefest of synopsis then I'll let you know this. The Trojan war has ended and poor Odyseus wants to go home to Ithaca to see his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. However, those crazy Gods are up to no good and Poseidon has a bone to pick with Odsueus since he never got a sacrifice...If it's got you so far just think of what is to come: A battle with a cyclops, some monster with 6 heads that can't be destroyed, A king who has to pretend to be a beggar and sex, sex, sex. It's everything a novice would love and the thing that makes the more advance readers keep on referring to the classics. Don't read the sparknotes/cliffnotes. They can't possible fill you in to how wonderfull and fulfilling this epic is

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Summary: Brilliant
Review: This book is brilliant. I loved it, and it was a fascinating look into Greek culture and life. The perils of Odysseus were interesting, and if you look hard enough, you can find quite a few modern day stories that have there roots in this book. This book is wonderful, Robert Fagles is a genius, and it is no wonder it is one of the best-known classics of all time.

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Summary: The Muses sing!
Review: Homer's Odyssey was not written to be read on a page. In fact, it was not written on a page at all over much of its career. The Odyssey was designed for telling aloud. It sings. It rolls and rollicks along, or it burbles quietly, perhaps even seductively. Reader Ian McKellen and translator Robert Fagles understand all this very well, so well that you almost think the story is telling itself.

I've listened to this unabridged reading of Fagles' translation at least a dozen times, and I hope to hear it a hundred more. Though the reading takes many cassetes, there are stories and stories here, and though they flow from one to another, the tales are self-contained enough to listen to one by one. There is a chord or two of music between major sections, a stringed instrument fanfare to convince you that you've slipped back into the Bronze Age.

The accompanying booklet is useful and interesting, and I found the fold-up packaging is secure and convenient.

I also own the Fagles Iliad, read by Derek Jacobi, and think it a wonderful example of Derek Jacobi reading Derek Jacobi --I could never get beyond half a tape. This version is also abridged (according to reviews, the audio publishers judged the world's best-known war story, or perhaps anti-war story, too violent for modern tastes and cut the worst, or best, of the gore.)

Jacobi also reads an abridged Odyssey and if you are debating which to buy, do try to listen to both the McKellen and the abridged version.

A copy of the Fagles translation might be a useful accompaniment, though it's hard to imagine that a buyer of the audio version wouldn't already have it.

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Summary: This book is too long and too garbage
Review: This book sucks. I dont care if Homer was blind or not this book is like 900 pages too long. I could tell this story in about 10 pages. Homer taking all long to say stupid stuff. Teens if you are reading this all I have to say is CLIFF NOTES CLIFF NOTES you will pass the test, unless you are in AP classes. The teachers expect kids to read cliff notes trust me my moms a teacher. P.S this book SUCKS.

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Summary: Not that great
Review: "The Odyssey" seems to be one of those works that is important because it's really old, not so much for any other reason. I guess I liked the theme of working to return home, but I couldn't really get into the endless narrative. And Penelope sucks.

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Summary: A Most Well Prepared Translation of Homer's Epic.
Review: For nearly three thousand years the poems of Homer have thrilled listeners of every culture and epoch. Allusions to The Iliad and The Odyssey are so pervasive in our western culture that they are almost required reading for anyone who wishes to study western literature.
Briefly, The Odyssey is the telling of the many adventures of the Greek Chieftan Odysseus (also known as Ulysses) during his long journey home. Filled with tales of the heroes and gods of ancient Greece, Homer's poems are noted for the masterful use of wonderfully illustrative similes and metaphors, which become all the more wonderful with the understanding that Homer is believed to have been blind!

Translations of Homer which try to adhere to the original poetic structure and be as literal as possible are immensely difficult to read by all but the most focused scholars. Other translations have completley deviated from any resemblance of poetry in an effort to be more accessible to the average reader. Here Mr. Fagles has achieved a translation which is not only easy to read and understand, but which retains the poetic lyricism of the original.

Homer's works should be on the bookshelf of anyone who is interested in the classics, and with this translation you don't have to be a University Professor to appreciate them.