From the Bookshelf of Classics and the Western Canon…

The Odyssey

Homer

Start date: April 4, 2018

Finish date: June 26, 2018

Discussion: Homer, Odyssey revisited

Discussion leader: Everyman

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Homer, Odyssey revisited

General Discussion
By Everyman · 67 posts · 145 views

last updated Jun 29, 2023 06:53AM

Translations
By Everyman · 44 posts · 111 views

last updated Nov 24, 2018 01:54PM

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What Members Thought

Nov 10, 2017 Melissa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Do you want a new translation of The Odyssey? Yes, yes you want this new translation by Emily Wilson, if only for the 90 page Introduction/Translator’s Note. But the poem is very readable, set in iambic pentameter, so it keeps the formality of the original while easy to read. Notes and a list of names at the back (plus a few maps) help out if you feel lost. This is the first translation of The Odyssey into English by a woman and I think it’ll last for a while. Thanks to Kyle @w.w.norton 😽😽 for s ...more

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Mar 15, 2019 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: poetry

Emily Wilson’s translation of the classic tale of Odysseus’ voyage and return home is very readable, and her notes on the text provide some context without overwhelming the reader. I enjoyed her version, but based on the passages I compared, this version is a little too breezy to replace my much loved Robert Fitzgerald translation.

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Jun 25, 2008 Inder rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history, fiction, culture, alltimefaves, audiobooks, classics, pre-19th-century, read-2010, long-term-projects, poetry

Well shoot. It turns out it's just not possible to give The Odyssey less than five stars. Even though, in some ways, I am tempted to.

This is an extremely early, extremely important work of literature. It is a fundamental part of the Western Canon. It is, at moments, beautiful, sad, moving, and exciting. It is, at other moments, a bit tedious and hard-going.

I read this in high school and was suitably awed by the broader themes of loyalty, trial, mythology, and fate. On this most recent reading, h ...more

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Sep 14, 2007 Kellie rated it it was amazing

This is SO GOOD. Don't shy away from it because it's a "classic" or because of the age of this work. It's quite simply amazing. The things that happen to Odysseus are entertaining enough, but Penelope's faithfulness, his son's anguish, the suitors all back home eating his food, drinking his drink, and living in his castle...it's enough to keep you hanging in there page after page. It's in my top 10 of all time. ...more

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