The Odyssey

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Summary: Odysseus brought to life.
Review: It was with great dread that I purchased the audio tapes of the Odyssey. It is with great pleasure that I write this review. Audio turned a dreaded assignment into a wonderful experience.The odyssey is a story to be listened to and not read. Ian McKellen's voice transends the here and now, transporting you back in time. It's as if you are seated around a fire listening to the tale for the first time.

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Summary: If you must read the Odyssey,this is the best one.
Review: The Odyssey is a well known reference for allusions in today's society. The themes applied are universal. From 'dawn with her rose red fingers' to Odysseus fighting with the Cyclops, and countless others society today is continuously referring to The Odyssey. To truly understand these references and appear educated you must read The Odyssey. While The Odyssey isn't the most interesting of books, Robert Fagles' translation uses modern terminology to describe ancient ideas that are still present. The book starts with the traditional invocation of the muse, after an inspiring introduction. It goes on with the familiar quests of Telemachus and Odysseus. The theme of a son following his father is well employed here as the first 4 chapters follow Telemachus searching for his well known papa. Then Odysseus goes through Circe, Charybdis, the Sirens, the Cyclops, and Calypso. Finally, Odysseu...well I don't want to spoil the ending for those of you who have been living under rocks or in caves.

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Summary: The worst book I have ever read!
Review: This book had been recommended to me so I decided to read it. It is the worst, no exaggeration, book that I have ever read. It was totally incomprehensible. The plot was not even interesting! If you are sitting there trying to figure out what each character is saying, it's not easy to find the book enjoyable! I do NOT recommend this book to anyone; young or old!

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Summary: i was excited about reading the story at first
Review: but then it seemed to drag. i really didn't like the story, maybe that opinion was influenced by my not like odyssesus. i don't know. i fail to see the beauty of the story. sophacles was a much better storyteller.

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Summary: i almost enjoyed it
Review: well, i had to read this book last year in 9th grade and i kinda liked it , but i definetly didnt love it . fagles poetically translates it which is pretty, but if i had seen "and dawn with her rose red fingers" one more time i would have thrown this book out my window and let the cars run it over ,reading tire tracks would have been better..... but its an ok adventure story , not for anyone who's looking for a light read cause its definetly a heavy , slow read , at least it was for me ...personally i recommend the catcher in the rye , midnight in the garden of good and evil , a tale of two cities , or the rainmaker . im not saying you wont like the book , get your own opinion , it just wasnt my type of book

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Summary: Back to Homer
Review: Fangles' version of Homer's epic marks a return to the origin of epic poetry. The Odyssey was meant to be read aloud! Fangles' verse speaks to today's reader (instead of at or down at him or her) and retains Homer's poetic grace. Amen. I loved The Odyssey when I first read it (a prose edition) in 8th grade, but this retelling of it blew me away.

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Summary: ¤ Paltry, Un-Homeric Sequel to the Illiad ¤
Review: The Illiad is a jewel, a human epic in the best possible sense of the term. The Odyssey, however, is a pathetic, lost little child of a poem, obviously written by some eager, but mediocre, student of Homer's, after the poet's death. Whereas the Illiad is tightly woven in conception and plot, the Odyssey forgets its purpose to the extent that ITS forsaken wandering overshadow Odysseus'. Whereas the Illiad delights in detail, the Odyssey will content itself with a "the garden was beautiful, and Argeiphontes delighted in it. When his eyes had finished feasting, he entered the dwelling," or will simply say a chair was "well-made" or somesuch. The one exception to this utter lack of sense and poetry is Book 20, which starts out by celebrating the simple act of unlocking a closet, describing the key and the door with love, and ends just as Odysseus will begin to take his long-awaited, sweet revenge. (Perhaps this book was the Homeric seed, which was doomed to germinate on infertile, incompetent soil?) Whereas the Illiad gave us glorious heroism, the Odyssey is a series of disconnected scenes of men crying and eating pigs. Reading it makes one sick to one's heart. Read the Illiad, my dear friends, (I recommend Lattimore), but let the poor Odyssey lie.

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Summary: Homer is not for morons!
Review: There some people who are not ready to ready and understand the greatness of his thought, richness of language, solid vision of reality, desire for the sublime things and uncomparable imagination just like there are people who avoid sunlight if they were for too long in the darkness. Iliad and Odyssey are monuments of humanities always anew, someone who deny this reality must READ THEM FOR REAL, and not to repeat contemporary prejudices, nationalisms and stupidities he or she read in a an simplory review or newspaper, because Homer is newer today than the newspaper released in the morning. May you admire this sunlight!

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Summary: A decent adventure story
Review: I enjoyed reading this story, yet I think much of its acclaim comes from its age. At times it does seem to ramble a bit. My fervent suggestion to those contemplating this is make sure you get a translation appropriate to your purpose. I was only interested in the story of it so I made sure my copy was translated in plain English. As it turns out, many are written in verse which I think would make it near impossible to read to the end.

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Summary: Stick with the Fitzgerald
Review: Apparantly, it is possible to go wrong with The Odyssey. Fitzgerald is 100x better.