The Odyssey [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Homer (Author), Simon Armitage (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 2008

Odysseus recounts his struggles to sail home to Ithaca in one of the greatest pieces of storytelling in Western literature. 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.

Dramatization on 3 CDs.

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: AudioGO; Unabridged Edition edition (October 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1602834830
• ISBN-13: 978-1602834835
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,512,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful audio dramatization, July 16, 2009

By 

Brigitte C. Madrian (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Odyssey (Audio CD)

Most (all?) of the reviews that have been posted on this product appear to be for the Lattimore translation of the Odyssey. This is not a review of the Lattimore translation, but of the Simon Armitage/BBC audio dramatization of the Odyssey. It is fantastic. I ordered this audio version after reading a good review in Audiofile magazine. I must concur with the Audiofile review--this is a fantastic listen. The story came to life for me in a way it never has before. It made me appreciate why Homer is a classic. When my middle school aged daughter gets to high school and has to read the Odyssey, I will be pulling this out for her to listen to. This would be great way to introduce students to Homer.

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed, March 8, 2011

By 

sd - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Odyssey (Audio CD)

I didn't realize this wasn't the actual text of the book, but rewritten and rendered for radio. For that purpose, and an overview of the story, it has done a good job.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Life's Lesson to be Learned from Life, December 22, 2009

By 

Wendall Paul Sexton "wendallpauls" (Kansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Odyssey (Audio CD)

"Whether `The Odyssey' is still part of high school literature these days, I couldn't say. It was, at some point, during my four years; and thanks to that indoctrination, I knew the story to some degree - so much so as to invite a movie adaptation along some point. However, as this exceptional production from BBC Radio proves, great stories endure through the ignorance of youth to come across onto the other side of life with an understanding beyond the vanities of those early days. This is, as I could now see having lived a bit of life myself, a tale of the realities of life: the joys, the disappointments, the struggle, the enduring faithfulness and perseverance against the troubles that will inevitably arrive.

I have never endured the challenges of war for ten years, separating myself from my wife and young son. I have never spent ten years traveling the seas, battling God and man in a desperate pursuit of home. I have never encountered a rowdy and dangerous band of suitors, eager to steal my wife's hand and the wealth my life's work has accrued. But I have seen life with its trials and tribulations, where faith and courage are required to endure. This is Odysseus' story; and it is the story of every soul with the fortitude to face the monsters and gods of their own islands. If you've lived a bit of life, revisit this story and you will understand."