The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homer's Epic [Paperback]

Simon Armitage (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 17, 2008

"Armitage has given an ageless story new vigor, and has done it with style, wit and elegance."—Literary Review

In this new verse adaptation, originally commissioned for BBC radio, Simon Armitage has recast Homer's epic as a series of bristling dramatic dialogues: between gods and men; between no-nonsense Captain Odysseus and his unruly, lotus-eating, homesick companions; and between subtle Odysseus (wiliest hero of antiquity) and a range of shape-shifting adversaries—Calypso, Circe, the Sirens, the Cyclops—as he and his men are "pinballed between islands" of adversity. One of the most individual voices of his generation, Armitage revitalizes our sense of the Odyssey as oral poetry, as indeed one of the greatest of tall tales.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

One of Britain's most successful poets, the versatile and clever Armitage follows up his translation of the medieval poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with this engaging and compulsively readable adaptation of Homer's epic, in which the wily sailor-hero Odysseus must outplay, outwit or outlast seductive nymphs, a malevolent enchantress, a one-eyed giant, and his own impious crew in order to reach his home island, his son and his faithful wife. Written for BBC radio, Armitage's version is not a translation of the ancient Greek epic, but rather a dramatic rendering, divided into scenes with parts (mostly in verse) for voice actors. Armitage delivers fast paced and decidedly contemporary language: Odysseus himself envisions A freak wave cracking the keel of some poor sailing ship.... Just the Gods doing their thing. The transformation of a tale about one man into exchanges among sets of characters can make things seem choppy early on, but it pays off when Odysseus reaches home and has to maintain his disguise until he can slaughter his wife's suitors. Armitage's play will entertain, if not enlighten, anyone interested in the fresh ways that Homer's story can be told. (Apr.)
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About the Author

The award-winning Simon Armitage has published ten volumes of poetry. His translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was covered on the front page of the New York Times Book Review. He lives in Yorkshire, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (April 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393330818
• ISBN-13: 978-0393330816
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #549,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fresh perspective on a classic tale, January 18, 2009

By 

Jason Crane (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homer's Epic (Paperback)

This is essentially Armitage's script for a BBC Radio production of the Odyssey. He condenses -- if that's the word -- the story into a series of conversations between its characters.

The language is both rich and readable, everyday and heroic. Armitage uses the conversations to strike at the core of the story, and to offer a look into the psychology of gods and men.

Despite its much shorter length, this Odyssey manages to retain its epic scope. For those not familiar with the original work, this version may serve as a fine introduction. And for those who are steeped in the classic poem, this Odyssey offers a fresh perspective.

Highly recommended.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ulysses yesterday, today and always!, July 18, 2008

By 

Ruth Housman "synchronicity central" (Boston, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homer's Epic (Paperback)

I thoroughly enjoyed this most poetic re write of the Homeric Odyssey, the story of Odysseus on his return to Ithaca, following the Trojan wars and his sojourn on Malta with Calypso. I was so taken with this account I wrote to the author care of his agent. I feel this story is relevant to us all, on all levels. We are, each of us, our very own Odysseus, our very own heroes and heroines and our lives are heroic. We are the storytellers of today. In deep ways one could say that Memoir and Narrative are flowering in this century. The metaphoric connects and even the words are here with us today. We have our atlases and in my part of the world, in Cambridge MA there are businesses like Hermes Auto Repair. We might not be aware of this, but we are all of us on a deep journey and, as the ancient storytellers sitting by the fires, we love to tell about our very own exploits, big and small. It's what we do coming through.

And if you look at the word Story itself, and deconstruct the letters you will find, magically, that Troy lies within. I am saying this is a good, quick read, bringing to life in an easy, poetic fashion this mythic story and I am also saying it has deep relevance to our lives, today.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope you do, too.

4.0 out of 5 stars A new telling of one of the greatest stories ever told, February 28, 2010

By 

John M. Lemon (Spokane, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homer's Epic (Paperback)

Armitage's version of the Odyssey is a series of scenes written as free verse dialogs. It was written for a series of BBC radio presentations. His Odyssey is well-written, really clips along, and captures the spirit and excitement of the full-length work. In spite of a few anachronisms (which drive me crazy), I really liked it. The dialog format works very well for Homer, which is already quite kinetic and cinematic. Armitage boils things down to their bare essence, leaving us with a gripping and engaging tale.

Many purists will call this Homer-lite. Even so, it is fun, exciting, and certainly worth reading. And if it inspires a few readers to read The Odyssey in its entirety, then it has more than done its job.