The Odyssey

The Odyssey
by Homer

The Odyssey
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Book Summary Information

Author: Homer
Translator: Robert Fagles
Introduction: Bernard Knox
Edition: Paperback
Audio: Greek (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-11-29
ISBN: 0140268863
Number of pages: 560
Publisher: Penguin Classics

Book Reviews of The Odyssey

Book Review: Faithful Rendition
Summary: 4 Stars

The Odyssey / 0-14-026886-3

I'm not going to lie and say that I pull this (or it's companion, The Illiad) out every other weekend for light reading, but if you're going to have a copy of The Odyssey on hand, this is a good one to add to the library. The translation is good, and is very poetic yet easy enough to read, considering the source material. The verse form has been maintained and reminds the reader that this was originally a verse, and not a prose narrative. The binding is tight and attractive, with thick sturdy pages, and with "ruffled" unfinished edges, giving the book an older feel, and making pages easier to grip and turn. I recommend this version, if you're considering buying The Odyssey for your library.

Summary of The Odyssey

If The Iliad is the world's greatest war epic, then The Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of everyman's journey though life. Odysseus's reliance on his wit and wiliness for survival in his encounters with divine and natural forces during his ten-year voyage home to Ithaca after the Trojan War is at once a timeless human story and an individual test of moral endurance.

Translated by Robert Fagles
Introduction and Notes by Bernard Knox
Robert Fagles's translation is a jaw-droppingly beautiful rendering of Homer's Odyssey, the most accessible and enthralling epic of classical Greece. Fagles captures the rapid and direct language of the original Greek, while telling the story of Odysseus in lyrics that ring with a clear, energetic voice. The story itself has never seemed more dynamic, the action more compelling, nor the descriptions so brilliant in detail. It is often said that every age demands its own translation of the classics. Fagles's work is a triumph because he has not merely provided a contemporary version of Homer's classic poem, but has located the right language for the timeless character of this great tale. Fagles brings the Odyssey so near, one wonders if the Hollywood adaption can be far behind. This is a terrific book.

Homer Books

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