The Odyssey in Reading Classics, Chronologically Through the Ages

Apr 01, 2019 Biblio Curious rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-western

I'm very glad to have read Joyce's Ulysses first because of course that's a journey. Reversing it means that Ulysses comes to my memory while reading The Odyssey. Chronologically of course Homer is first in the literary cannon and Joyce is 2nd. How curious books are when they become part of your memory.

What else could I possibly say about a book that has so much written about it already?

While reading The Odyssey, I compared Fitzgerald's with Emily Wilson's which was a fabulous romp through lexi ...more

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Jul 29, 2019 Sorento62 rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: to-read-in-2018-challenge, chronological-readings, to-read-in-2019-challenge, classics-ancient, required-reading-listopia-top-100, audible

The pacing and storytelling does not meet modern entertainment standards, but knowing this is 2,500+ years old makes it worth reading. I listened to Stanley Lombardo narrating his translation, with introductory synopses for each chapter read by Susan Sarandon. The modern language helped hold my attention. Lombardo finds lots of different phrases for "rosy fingered dawn" and the "wine dark sea", but he does repeat other phrases verbatim as I presume the original Greek also does. Now that I know t ...more

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Jun 27, 2015 Ashley Van Vonderen rated it really liked it

I love this book. It was the first "serious" thing assigned to me in college literature, and by the end of the honors elective, I changed my major to English. The thing I loved most was the mythical figures and the winding journey that never abated. I loved reading about Odysseus's character, and his relationships with his crew. It was slow to read, fast to love- and it stands as one of the works that opened the door for me to catch a glimpse of the treasures hidden in literature beyond the cont ...more

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