Customer Reviews

The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)

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I own a number of translations of Homer, and the Rieu/Jones translations of The Odyssey and The Iliad are among my favourite (the others are Albert Cook's and Mandelbaum's translation of The Odyssey). I like all these better than the Fagles since they are more faithful to the original text.

If you order this book, grab yourself a Cliff Notes just so you get the necessary background info so it all makes sense.

Good luck!

Pretty good and a classic. I've read it four times and it gets better and better. It's packed with exciting adventure and sufficient love interest (both marital and adulterous). There is a host of interesting characters including Calypso, a great man eater and a Lolita, the teen aged Nausicaa. Homer doesn't spell some things out about what happens with and to these women but I get it now whereas I didn't get it in high school. Events: They blind that one-eyed monster, do drugs (the lotus), and have some rough sailing excitement engineered by angry gods and goddesses. That final scene is in the best tradition of the American Western with fighting and winged death by that powerful bow. It's a page turned and much much better than the Iliad. The tone is calmer, pondered, not ponderous. And then there is the montage, the use of stories within stories and background info embedded in myth and history. Wow! Homer has the right stuff. He's great. But did he really write all of it? My impression is that the last 20 pages are so different in tone and quality that they are not his.

This review is in two parts. The first being my opinons on the translation, the second being my opinions on the story itself.

THE TRANSLATION:

Let's face it, popular works that were written in the BC or early AD timeframe can be a nightmare to try and read. Who wants to try and pronounce multisyllable Greek names or struggle with words that have long since winked out of existence? If you are the "average Joe", then let me tell you that THIS is the translation for you. The whole story is written in a novel sort of format, much like I'm writing this here. The translator makes no attempt to rhyme or to use alliteration, or to format the words on the page so it looks like a non-rhyming poem. The language is very modern, the most archaic word you'll find probably is the word "aegis" and if I remember there is a footnote that tells you what that is.

For me, the translation was as good as Seamus Heaney's translation of "Beowulf" in regards to readability. Overall, if you want to read the Odyssey and have been pondering which translation to get, think no further, this is the best I've seen.

THE STORY:

I was a bit disappointed with the story at first. I was under the impression that I was going to read about Odysseus' trials in "real-time". Instead, most of the "popular" scenes (like with the Cyclops) are simply Odysseus recounting what happened to him as he talks to someone else in their lavish house.

The end is where the story really shines though. Although this is a mythological fantasy tale, I see it more as a love story. The fantasy scenes felt a bit rushed, whereas the preparations for the grand finale went at a much slower pace. At its heart, this story is about a husband and wife that have been seperated by war for 20 years and both are longing to see each other yet again. Odysseus wants to share his tales of monsters he's fought and cities he's sacked, but more than that he wants to get home to his wife Penelope and plan his bloody revenge on the Suitors that are eating away at his wealth.

Overall this was a really good book, especially given it's age (and that's mostly thanks to the translator). If you like love and mythology/fantasy, this is the book for you.

An interesting thought that crossed my mind while reading this book: How many military wives would wait for their husbands 20 years for them to come back from Iraq? This book certainly says something about how strong love and faith can be--and should be.

Over the years, I've encountered several different translations of Homer's 'The Odyssey' in school textbooks. These were generally excerpts, not the work in its entirety. I had become quite familiar with it's plot, as well as its ties to Greek mythology, though I'd never read the whole work. I've made attempts at reading Robert Fitzgerald's full translation of 'The Odyssey' in the past, though I found that I couldn't get into it. A couple of months before writing this review, I came across this particular translation...After leafing through the pages, it appeared to be much more accessible than others I had seen, so I thought I'd give it a try.

One of the key differences between this translation and others is that it has been rendered in the style of a novel than like the epic poetry its been translated from. Though the literal meaning of the passages has been largely retained, I find this translation's layout to be more aesthetically appealing and, thus, easier for a casual reader to become immersed in.

'The Odyssey' is the story of the main character, Odysseus, and his return to his home in Ithaca after the Trojan War. Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, had to leave both his wife Penelope and his newly born son Telemachus behind because he has to leave for Troy. 'The Odyssey' begins, chronologically, in the 'middle' of the actual sequence of events in Odysseus' story. While Odysseus has been away from Ithaca for an unusually long length of time, his patron goddess, Athena, is discussing his fate with her father, Zeus. In the meantime, Odysseus' wife, Penelope, is constantly being harassed by a large group of men collectively referred to as the 'Suitors', who wish to marry her, since it appears that there is no chance of Odysseus returning. Athena visits Telemachus, who is now around 20 years old, and is able to help him get news of his father's whereabouts. Odysseus has been held captive by the nymph Calypso for many years, though the messenger-god Hermes persuades her to free him. Odysseus builds himself a raft, though it ends up being wrecked by the enraged sea-god Poseidon. Odysseus swims to an island, where he is rescued by a young girl, Nausicaa. He is welcomed by her father, Alcinous, and mother, Arete. At this point, Odysseus tells of the trials he has had to endure since his participation in the Trojan War so long ago.

Many of these events will be familiar to anyone interested in Greek mythology; for instance, his crew's ships being wrecked on the island of the Lotus-Eaters, his encounter with a Cyclops (Poseidon's son, who Odysseus blinds by thrusting a stake through his eye; this is the reason why Poseidon is angry with Odysseus), and passing through the land of the singing Sirens. After he is finishing telling of his adventures, a group of skilled sea-men, the Phaecians, help him reach Ithaca. Odysseus is able to introduce himself to his son Telemachus, who he hasn't seen since he was a baby. In disguise, Odysseus is able to walk amongst the Suitors and Penelope, and tells them that Odysseus is going to be returning soon. Penelope tests all of the Suitors, saying that anyone able to string Odysseus' bow in an archery competition may have her hand in marriage. Odysseus, still disguised as a beggar, is the only one able to do so. Then, he reveals his identity to the Suitors, then kills them after turning his bow upon all of them. His wife, Penelope, tests Odysseus to see if he is really who he says he is by telling the maid Eurycleia to move their bed from the bedroom. Odysseus then tells of how he built that bed himself from an olive-tree and how it would be incredibly hard for anyone to move it. Thus, Penelope was convinced of his identity, and they talk of all of the events that have occurred in each of their lives during the long span of time that they haven't been able to communicate.

'The Odyssey' is one of the central works of Western literature, which is understandable based on the story's scope: mythology, adventure, an intelligent and cunning hero, and an unpredictable plot. The fairly flat, and sometimes archetypal dispositions of the characters are made up for by the complex and enjoyable nature of the tale.

The introduction characterizes THE ILIAD as a tragedy and THE ODYSSEY as a novel. The Homeric epics deal with the Trojan War and its aftermath. Many years after the sack of Troy Odysseus has not returned to his faithful wife Penelope because he, among other things, is being detained by the Nymph, Calypso. Homer regarded the gods as made in the image and likeness of man. Zeus claims to his daughter, Athene, that it is his brother, Poseidon, who has kept Odysseus, her favorite, in exile. In Poseidon's absence Athene is able to persuade Zeus to send Hermes, the messanger god, to Calypso to demand the release of Odysseus.

Athene disguises herself and travels to Ithaca. Suitors of Penelope are eating Odysseus's son, Telemachus, out of house and home. Athene advises Telemachus to sail away from Ithaca to see Nestor and afterwards Menelaus to discover the reason for the delay in his father's return. He is urged to be as brave as Orestes who killed the usurper Aegisthus to avenge the death of his father, Agamemnon. Telemachus does consult Nestor. Nestor supplies a chariot, and with his son as the driver, Telemachus is able to proceed to Lacedaemon to the palace of Menelaus. Telemachus hears from Menelaus the rumor that Odysseus has been waylaid by Calypso.

The scene shifts to Calypso and Odysseus. Calypso has received a visit from Hermes and Odysseus is ready to set sail. He travels for seventeen days to the land of the Phaecians. The daughter of the king instructs Odysseus to obtain the sympathy of her mother for his enterprise in order to obtain help to return to Ithaca. Some of Odysseus's comrades were lost to the appetites of the Cyclops and the Lastrygonians. Later Odysseus and his men spent a year with Circe. Odysseus traveled to the underworld for Circe. His men ate the cattle of the god of the sun, Hyperion, and so there is no homecoming for them. It seems that Odysseus is the sole survivor of his party.

There are more than a hundred suitors, feasting, carousing, and plotting to kill Telemachus. Upon arriving at Ithaca, Athene tells Odysseus to stay at first with the swineherd, Eumaeus. He, the King of Ithaca, is disguised as an old poor man. Telemachus is ordered to return home with haste. He endeavors to by-pass Nestor so as not to have his stay abroad prolonged. When Odysseus presents himself to Telemachus, Telemachus does not believe he is Odysseus since earlier he has the visage of an old and impoverished man. Finally Telemachus is led to believe his father has returned and the two men plot to regain Telemachus's birthright.

Odysseus explains that he will appear at the palace as a beggar. Telemachus is to secure the weapons in the storeroom. While the suitors are participating in a contest to string Odysseus's bow, Odysseus enlists the swineherd and the cowman in his campaign to overwhelm the suitors and capture the palace. After stringing the bow, Odysseus discloses his identity to the suitors. Slaughter ensues. The wily Odysseus, the possessor of a golden tongue, is able to argue with a mob, members of the families of the suitors, that they are to blame for the deaths of their sons since they did not seek to restrain them and cause them to modify their behavior.

This first novel continues to reward the reader and rereader. One of the more interesting aspects of the experience is Homer's fine perception of matters concerning ethics and morals. The Rieu translation is excellent, exceedingly readable.

(I'm not sure why amazon has over half of these reviews for Fagels's translation on Rieu's page? I noticed this happening quite a bit on amazon, but anyway...)

I have spent quite a bit of time comparing versions of "The Odyssey", and out of all of them I settled on Rieu's pioneering translation.

It was originally published in 1946 as Penguin's very first book!

He would recite "The Odyssey" from the original Greek to his wife and children during the second world war in London while bombs dropped around them. It was Rieu's wish to start a publishing company that dealt with reviving the classics for common man. Penguin Classics is now the most widely loved, read and utilized editions on the market! What a vision he had!

This edition of The Odyssey was revised by his son in 1991 and reprinted with a better print and layout in 2002. It still carries a type of "joie de vivre" all throughout, a wonderful raciness, and a strength of believablity.

...as good as the revised one is, Rieu's original more important and historic because of the eloquent and humble human language he uses...which has largely been taken away.

The Trojan War is over and one of our hero kings is lost. His son (Telemachus) travels to find any information about his father's fait. His wife (Penelope) must cunningly hold off suitors that are eating them out of house and home.

If he ever makes it home, Odysseus will have to detect those servants loyal from those who are not. One absent king against rows of suitors; how will he give them their just deserts? We look to Bright Eyed Pallas Athena to help prophecy come true.

Interestingly all the tales of monsters and gods on the sea voyage was told by Odysseus. Notice that no one else survives to tell the tale. Therefore, we have to rely on Odysseus' word.

Many movies took sections of The Odyssey, and expanded them to make interesting stories those selves.

Not just the story but also the way in which it is told will keep you up late at night reading.


The Odyssey

Impressively, there have been at least six new English translations of the Homeric epic, the Odyssey, in the last 50+ years, a clear demonstration of the fascination of the original Greek and also of the pleasure and prestige that a line-by-line modern rendition grants to the dedicated translator, whether a scholar, a poet, or (in the case of Laurence "of Arabia")a military adventurer. The work by the English classicist, E.V. Rieu, extended by his son, D.C.H. Rieu, is one of the most readable, warm and "alive". Even a modern artist, whose tapestries were exhibited at the Onassis Center in New York in 2005, used this (in combination with the Modern Odyssey by Nikos Kazantzakis) as her inspiration.

The classic that is "The Odyssey" can not be easily reviewed. As one of the earliest pieces of literature in the western canon, it's delicate material to judge. Such a prestigious title would perhaps naturally have a 5-star rating but "The Odyssey" is much more than that, it is a deeply affecting tale and a master-work of story, character and literary technique.

This translation is one of the best out there, it's digestable and makes a difficult epic very universally approachable.

Perhaps more of an explanation about Homeric Greece wouldn't go miss as the Epic can seem puzzling to beginners if some previous knowledge of life at the time is not in place. Peter Jones has some excellent commentary and I would highly recommend him.

As it is, this is a truelly timeless story, Odysseus, Telemachus and Penelope become characters we care deeply for and the tales of Odysseus's travels are superbly told. Not to mention that this is perhaps the most referenced work of literature in history, you may feel a hell of a lot smarter for having read it.

I read this book to foster my uncle-nephew-type relationship with a ninth grader assigned to read this father-son Rieu translation of Homer's Odyssey. The young man took top academic honors graduating eighth grade middle school, so it takes a little work to keep up intellectually with him. But it took no effort to read this book. It reads effortlessly and beautifully, the poetry ringing through in the ringing prose. A compelling, thrilling adventure story, clever narrow escapes, a love story to inspire the least romantic, wrongs decisively avenged, fantasy anchored in an ancient reality, history made enjoyable and memorable, a cast of characters Tolstoy must have envied (and perhaps emulated), a story leaving one with a wish for a sequel. And now I know the proper pronunciation of Odysseus. Do you?