Customer Reviews

The Odyssey

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As most know, Homer's Odyssey is the story of the adventures of Odysseus as he makes his way home, to the Greek island of Ithaca, after the war in Troy. Those who groaned when it was assigned in high school or college will do an abrupt about face when they hear Robert Fagles's brilliant translation read by acclaimed actor Sir Ian McKellan. Those becoming familiar with the Odyssey for the first time through this audio are fortunate as it is a superb introduction.

Surely McKellan's compelling, resonant reading deserves an award. On a printed page the following words are static, inanimate. In McKellan's voice they ring, seducing listeners as they hear the story of Odysseus.

"Sing to me of the man, Muse, the
man of twists and turns
Driven time and again off course..."

A Professor of Comparative Literature Emeritus at Princeton, Robert Fagles won accolades for this translation of The Iliad - rightly so. He deserves the same and more for his translation of The Odyssey as he loses none of the original yet contemporizes Homer's masterpiece. Many today will easily identify with Odysseus, an iconic survivor.

In The New Yorker Garry Wills wrote: "Robert Fagles is the best living translator of ancient Greek drama, lyric poetry, and epic into modern English, and his translation of the Odyssey is his finest work so far."

What more can one say except enjoy?

Very highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

I knew I'd never get around to reading it. But after all, for its first five hundred years, nobody read it--they listened to it, as the bard sang it, from memory. Now we have a chance to listen again (and again) as Ian McKellen reads this powerful prose translation by Robert Fagles.

Now I count myself lucky to have long road trips (six and a half hours each way) to listen to this epic. I've listened clear through at least three times. My thirteen-year-old son (not particularly literate, like most kids these days) listened through for extra credit in history class. And the whole family enjoyed the first three books on a one-hour drive into the mountains.

The box includes an excellent 112-page introduction by Bernard Knox and eleven CDs nicely packaged. Keep it in the glove box. It's better than coffee on a long drive.

This is an absolutely fabulous product, but if you are not used to listening to audio books, I should give you a warning. This product is 11 CD's of one person speaking for about 13 hours. Can you imagine sitting down in the morning at home and staring at the wall for 13 hours while same voice goes on and on, all day and into the night? No, that won't work. So you at least have to break up the experience into chunks. Also, you might need to be doing something else as well, like walking or driving, so you don't drift off. What I did was listen while driving and intermingle other disks so I would not tire of the same voice. I would listen to one disk of the Odyssey, then I'd listen to a disk of music or a non-fiction lecture, then I'd put in another disk of the Odyssey.

However, the last 4 disks were so gripping I listened to them one after the other and could hardly wait for the next disk. Part of this was Ian McKellen's excellent, nay, masterful, enunciation and inflection. Part of the excitement is the climatic end when Odysseus returns home. Can you imagine a gripping 3 hour long buildup to the climatic moment when he reveals his return? Nothing else can compare!

I probably identified with the climax more now that I am middle-aged, with a home, a wife, and children approaching adulthood than I could have if I was a teenager listening to this or reading the book. There is little as primal to a mature man as the defense of his home and family.

It is astounding to experience a story this exciting and know it is about 2,800 years old.

I listened to this story on audio CD because I realized that I would never read this story because I have gone so far into my life without reading it yet. I'm very glad I listened to it instead of trying to read it. For one thing, how could I begin to pronounce so many Greek names? If you have started reading the book and put it down, try reading it by following along with this audio book. The audio book is abridged, but it is 13 hours long so I'm sure you would have a lot of text to follow along with.

If you think you know the story of the Odyssey because you've seen a movie based on the story, I will say the story by Homer is much grander and more full bodied than what has been depicted in movies. I'd go so far as to say the movies miss the real point of the Odyssey.

Robert Fagles has also translated the Aeneid and the Iliad. I've listened to those on audio CD as well and liked them all. I am a big fan of Derek Jacobi, who narrated the Iliad. I liked the Odyssey best of all.

This performance does justice neither to Ian McKellen, nor to the text; the reason? because it has been speeded up to reduce the time. Hence the notes made by other reviewers to the loss of the end of final consonants on some words. If you like speed reading, then this is for you - Penguin Audio squeeze Fagles unabridged translation into 11 hours. If on the other hand you want to enjoy listening to this great masterpiece at a more leisurely or regular reading pace then you might want to try the unabridged Naxos version read by Anton Lessor in 12 hours 45 mins - bear in mind also that Fagles' translation uses more words and lines than do rival translations, so if Anton Lessor were to be reading Fagles' translation then it would probably take in excess of 13 hours. Another alternative is Derek Jacobi's reading of an abridged version of the Odyssey.

However the most authoritative translations of Homer are by Richmond Lattimore - sadly not as far as I know available in audio format. These are still the preferred translation in universities on both sides of the Atlantic, still unrivalled after 50+ years!

The only thing that could possibly make Robert Fagles translation of the Odyssey better is Ian McKellen's masterful reading. Sir Ian McKellen makes the text come alive with his wonderful performance. If you like the odyssey you owe it to yourself to get this CD set.

I thought that this is perhaps the best audio book I have ever listened to, rivaled only by John Cleese's reading of C. S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters. Ian McKellon, whom most know primarily through his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, reads with the same epic sounding voice that he employed in the Lord of the Rings (as oppossed to less epic sounding voice inflection he employed in Xmen). Somehow his voice just sounds as ancient and mythical as the Odyssey itself. I cannot imagine a better reader for this book. I wish he had done the Iliad as well.

As for the translation itself, I must disagree with those who claim that it is the best. It is, I grant you, better than the thoroughly modernized versions like W. H. D. Rouse's, but I think it is (very) slightly too modernized. Phrases like shilly-shallying or other modern phrases simply do not belong in ancient texts like the Odyssey. That said, they did keep that type of language to a minimum, and the only better translation I have come across is Richard Lattimore's. For the most part this translation keeps the epic feel that the Odyssey should have, and Ian McKellen's voice only adds to this. I highly recommend this version. It is one of the few audio books I think is worth a second listen.

Overall grade: A+

I teach English for a living, and this is, by far, the best translation of the Odyssey that is out there. The audio version brings it to life and gets students to actually listen and read along, which isn't bad considering the story itself is over 2,000 years old and still quite a challenge to read. We skip a few books in class to keep interest up (books 2,3,4 are more about Telemachus,and book 11 is easily passed over) but the balance of the audio recordings are stellar. This is money well spent considering how many cds are in this package.

Homer's "The Odyssey" is one of the world's oldest adventure stories and holds the same attraction for contemporary readers that it has for Hellenic antiquity some three thousand years ago as an epic chronicle of adventure recounting the trials and tribulations of Odysseus when that famed Greek war hero tried to make his way home after the fall of Troy. Here are the stories of the Cyclops, Circe, the Sirens, the Underworld, and the demanding suitors for the hand of Penelope. This classic story is dramatically narrated by John Lee who is able to fully convey the energy, intellect, and resourcefulness of Odysseus in all of his legendary encounters. Strongly recommended for both school and community library audiobook collections, this complete and unabridged, ten compact disc recording has a total running time of 11 hours and 49 minutes.

For thousands of years this story has been told and retold.
The reason this story is still being told and still being heard is because it is so exciting and so very compelling.
It never grows old.
I have read and enjoyed this story from a leather bound book, but it is best heard spoken from a human voice. Ian McKellen is qualified as a modern day bard.

Unlike most movies and books of today, once will not be enough.
Those who listen to it will not be disappointed.

I'll not waste any time of yours with long and deserving praise for this telling of an ancient story, other than to say that should another day pass where you have stolen from yourself the opportunity to listen to this master storyteller lead you through a story written by a master, then only the Gods can forgive you.

Sir Ian Mckellan's performance is measured and beautiful, and there is no shame in a tear falling at the meeting of father and son for the emotion that comes through this practiced orator. I can say with a fair amount of confidence that the bards of old must have sounded like this - masters of their craft and able to bring the imaginations of their audience to life.

Not a moment longer - a treat awaits you...