Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
An insult to Homer and his work, May 27, 2006
The greatest problem with this book is that Adele Geras has apparently decided that researching source material is something that other people do. In the author's note at the beginning of the book she writes 'This book is not a version of Homer', which is poor comfort for the axe she proceeds to take to the original text.
The more minor flaws notwithstanding, such as Melantho coming to the palace as a teenager rather than having been brought up by Penelope (as she is in the Odyssey, thus making her betrayal of Penelope much more outrageous) and her being Eurymachus' mistress rather than Antinous' (Eurymachus is left out of the book entirely, giving way to a much more minor suitor, Amphimedon), not to mention Leodes being the first of the suitors to try the bow and begging for mercy while clutching Odysseus' knees rather than being accidentally killed by Telemachus in the dark (as he is in Ithaka), the ending of Homer's version, which I consider to be one of the best revenges in all of literature is mostly ignored, giving way to a drawn-out wander around the palace by both our heroes and the suitors with one side occasionally killing the other. To all intents and purposes, the entire chapter of the Odyssey entitled 'The Battle in the Hall' may as well not have happened, for all Adele Geras takes notice of it. The punishment of the unfaithfulness of the serving girls (including Melantho), which in the Odyssey takes place as their removing the bodies and cleaning the palace before being strung up by the neck in a line and thus dying by strangulation, is mitigated to Melantho receiving a cut across her face, thus marring her beauty and being just punishment, because the scar will make 'men shudder and turn away from her', which is obviously a dreadful thing, but somehow lacks the justice that the true ending gives.
All of these errors can be overcome. They lower the quality of the book greatly, but they can be overcome. Alone, they do not merit a rating of one small star. But the unfaithfulness of Penelope, she who is renowned for being the most loyal and true of women, she who spends almost the entire Odyssey weeping because she misses Odysseus so much, she who would rather have killed herself than marry one of the suitors, is intolerable. It is not to be borne. It takes away the entire point of the story. What use is Odysseus' struggle to reach his homeland if his wife has taken a lover and is happy to leave with him? The excuse given in Ithaka, that Telemachus would have killed him (Leodes, for reference), is pathetic. The tradition of xenos (hospitality) forbids the killing of a guest. Only the suitors, the villains, break that code. The emphasis of Penelope's ability to love two men at the same time merely shows up the gaps in the reworked plot (I do not claim that one can only love one person at a time, but for the purpose of this story it simply will not fly).
In conclusion, the flaws of the story and the blatant disregard for the original text far outweigh any possible positive aspects of the book, of which there are precious few even without the jaw-dropping mistakes that would shock any reader with even a basic knowledge of Homer. My greatest worry about this book is that someone who has not yet read the Odyssey will read Ithaka and take Mrs Geras' improvisations for the true story.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Adolescence is Given a Mythic Resonance, February 1, 2006
Readers familiar with THE ODYSSEY know that it is the story of Odysseus's long journey home from the Trojan War. Odysseus outwits various monsters, witches, and even the gods to win back his kingdom and rescue his faithful wife from the hands of thieves. THE ODYSSEY contains lots of adventure, excitement and heartache. It can also be a challenging read since even modern translations adhere to its original verse format.
Adèle Geras, whose previous book TROY was a retelling of THE ILIAD, has now taken on THE ODYSSEY. ITHAKA is the story of THE ODYSSEY told by those waiting for Odysseus's return. While it doesn't contain the same adventures as Odysseus's travels, Geras's treatment of the material lends quiet dignity to the events as told by an ordinary teenage girl, and fleshes out the story as it might have been experienced by women. Klymene is handmaiden to Odysseus's patient wife Penelope. While Penelope spends her days weaving and waiting for her husband's return, Klymene experiences the changes that are part of growing up, and does her part to keep Ithaka ready for the return of a king she has never known.
Klymene begins to understand the difficulty of Penelope's task to wait "unchanged and unchanging" when she falls in love with Telemachus, Odysseus's impetuous son. Telemachus only has eyes for Melantho, a beautiful and treacherous girl from a neighboring kingdom who has come to serve in Penelope's household. Klymene's situation is made more difficult by her ability to see the gods, whose appearance around the household usually signals trouble. She is also keeper of the household's many secrets, some of which could mean the difference between life and death for Ithaka's inhabitants.
Geras adds some interesting twists to an already well-known story, detailing aspects that are muted in Homer's original. The sinister arrival of the suitors who plan to marry Penelope and rule Ithaka is expanded upon in the book. Mocking Ithaka's famed hospitality, the suitors defile a once peaceful land with greed, rape and murder, involving Klymene, her family and friends.
Penelope is also allowed some humanity within the confines of her impossible task. Geras questions the inherent sexism of THE ODYSSEY by challenging the double standard of Odysseus's infidelity through the course of his adventures, while his wife Penelope waits faithfully at home. The conflict Penelope faces in actually being attracted to one of the suitors makes her wait more poignant.
Geras gives the ordinary events of adolescence --- unrequited love, outgrown friendships, tense relationships with elders --- a mythic resonance by associating them with a tale as old and beloved as THE ODYSSEY. Critics have long argued about whether life in the ancient world was lived or understood in the same way it is now. We know some things are very different, like the polytheistic system of belief prevalent in the ancient world. Lives were shorter. Yet, by translating the ancient world of THE ODYSSEY into contemporary idiom, Geras brings new life to a work I first experienced only as a dull classroom assignment. There is a reason these stories have survived millenniums and are reinterpreted by successive generations. After reading ITHAKA, I wanted to return to THE ODYSSEY and read it again.
--- Reviewed by Sarah A. Wood
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ithaka Fails to Deliver, September 8, 2006
Written by Adele Geras, the author of the spellbinding fictionalized account of the Trojan War, 'Troy', Ithaka chronicles the basic plot of The Odyssey. Using the same formula employed in 'Troy' of a teenaged girl who can see the gods, Geras crafts the character Klymene, a fictional young woman who is the handmaiden of Queen Penelope. She and her twin brother, Ikarios, have always been best friends with Prince Telemachus, who is the somewhat spoiled but good-natured prince of Ithaka. The entire island awaits the return of Odysseus, who has been delayed for 10 years since the end of the Trojan War and is feared dead. Klymene alternately cares for Penelope, helps her Nana (readers of The Odyssey will recognize Odysseus's old nurse Eurykleia) around the kitchen, and harbours a love for Telemachus.
Meanwhile, Penelope pines; Laertes, Odysseus's father, grumbles; and there's some teenage angst.
But not enough.
And none of it is crafted with any of the charm and skill that Geras pulled off in 'Troy'.
In 'Troy', Geras was able to encompass many different personalities because of the scope of the Trojan war: she was able to include Helen, Paris, Andromache, Priam, and a horde of teenagers who serve them. There, the characters were individually crafted and fascinating. Here, Klymene seems a mix of all the generic female characters in historical fiction: simultaneously caring, in love, and sometimes-snappy. Ikarios is completely one-dimensional, though Geras adequately translates Homer's Telemachus as an impulsive, spoiled, and selfish brat.
The author attempts to portray Melantho in some sort of insightful light, but such a character is difficultly translated, and Geras doesn't devote enough time to Melantho's development.
Similarly, the effect of the suitors are mildly felt.
All in all, the reader soon becomes weary of this book. It fails to deliver. Perhaps I feel this way because I had read The Odyssey before I read this book (whereas, I had not read The Iliad before I read Troy), so I already knew what was going to happen.
It seems to me that Geras simply wanted to ride on the coattails of the success of Troy, but Ithaka is not shaped around a war (so it lacks that urgency that a book chronicling a war will have.
And the gods....
Marpessa's ability to see the gods in "Troy" was an interesting trait. So were the visitations the gods made on mortals.
But here, it's forced. Klymene sees the gods almost everywhere she looks, and they keep explaining who and what they are. This depletes the whole practice of its necessary mysticism.
'Ithaka' is not a terrible book, but if you read 'Troy', you will be disappointed.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
