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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Sep 23, 2011 Riku Sayuj rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: epics, epic-stuff, religion, translated, spiritual, history-civilizations, philosophy, classics, r-r-rs, favorites

I started this as I was told it is essential reading if I ever want to give a shot at reading Ulysses. I was a bit apprehensive and spent a long time deciding on which translation to choose. Finally it was Stephen's review that convinced me to go for the Robert Fagles' version. I have no way of judging how good a decision that was.

This translation, by Robert Fagles, is of the Greek text edited by David Monro and Thomas Allen, first published in 1908 by the Oxford University Press. This two-volu

This translation, by Robert Fagles, is of the Greek text edited by David Monro and Thomas Allen, first published in 1908 by the Oxford University Press. This two-volume edition is printed in a Greek type, complete with lower- and uppercase letters, breathings and accents, that is based on the elegant handwriting of Richard Porson, an early-nineteenth-century scholar of great brilliance, who was also an incurable alcoholic as well as a caustic wit. This was of course not the first font of Greek type; in fact, the first printed edition of Homer, issued in Florence in 1488, was composed in type that imitated contemporary Greek handwriting, with all its complicated ligatures and abbreviations. Early printers tried to make their books look like handwritten manuscripts because in scholarly circles printed books were regarded as vulgar and inferior products — cheap paperbacks, so to speak.

First up, I enjoyed the book, even the droll parts. It was fun to repeatedly read Odysseus's laments and Telemachus' airy threats about the marauding suitors.

But now that I have finished it, how do I attempt a review? What can I possibly say about an epic like this that has not been said before? To conclude by saying that it was wonderful would be a disservice. To analyse it would be too self-important and to summarize it would be laughable.

Nevertheless, I thought of giving a sort of moral summary of the story and then abandoned that. I then considered writing about the many comparisons it evoked it my mind about the Indian epics that I have grown up with, but I felt out of my depth since I have not even read the Iliad yet.

With all those attempts having failed, I am left with just repeating again that it was much more enjoyable than I expected. That is not to say that it was an epic adventure with no dull moments. No. The characters repeat themselves in dialogue and in attitude, all major dramatic points are revealed in advance as prophesy and every important story event is told again at various points by various characters.

Even though I avoided it as much as I can, I could not at times avoid contrasting my reading experience with that of the epics I have grown up with and I remember thinking to myself that in comparison this reads like a short story or a novella. Maybe this impression is because I am largely yet unaware of the large mythical structure on which the story is built. I intend to allay that deficiency soon.

The characters are unforgettable, the situations are legendary and I am truly happy that I finally got around to a full reading of this magnificent epic. It has opened up a new world. ...more

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Nov 28, 2012 Julie rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobooks, classics

This was not at all what I expected. I had steeled myself to reading a long flowering epic poem that would be repetitive and impossible to understand. Instead, I found this to be surprisingly readable and even more surprisingly interesting. A few things really helped me on my journey. I was reading and listening to this book using the Fagles translation which is narrated by Ian McKellen - excellent! I also listened in parallel to Elizabeth Vandiver's lectures about The Odyssey. There are only 12 ...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Roger rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, multiple-reads, translations, ancient-before-dante

Finding a translation of Homer that I connect with is like discovering a new world, or so Keats said in his On Chapman's Homer. I really like this translation by Robert Fagles. It is much more accessible than the much praised but dry and academic translation of Richmond Lattimore. But it conveys much more of the feel of the oral tradition and beauty than in the prose translation of EV Rieu. The Fitzgerald translations have the same strengths. ...more

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