read any good epics lately?

[Joe]

anyone in the group read any good epics lately?

[Emma]

I recently finished The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri and just started The Aeneid by Virgil. I really enjoyed the Dante - which is a little ironic because I'm pretty young and it's very dark (well, at least l'Inferno is), and parts are really boring (like Paradiso). But, I very much enjoyed Mark Musa's translation! And, so far, the Aeneid is very enjoyable :)

[John]

Don, thanks for the tip on Eliot. I didn't know she dabbled in blank verse.

Emma, I'm glad a young person is enjoying The Divine Comedy. My favorite book was Purgatorio. I agree that Paradiso is a little boring. To me, the Comedy reads more like a travelogue than an actual epic. But it is still a stunning achievement on so many different levels.

Can I ask which translation of Virgil you are reading? There are a lot of good ones out there. I can recommend Fagles, Fitzgerald, Mandelbaum, or Lombardo. It is one of the greatest books ever written, in my opinion.

Happy reading to you all!

[Emma]

Fagles. Penguin Classics with an introduction by Bernard Knox

[Emma]

Although I stopped because I've had a recent craving for historical fiction. Now I'm reading "New York" by Edward Rutherford.

[Kaci]

I'm about to start the Iliad, then move on to the Odyssey and Aeneid (all the Fagles translations). My personal favorite, thus far, is probably Beowulf, but it's been awhile.