Customer Reviews

The Odyssey (Penguin Classics)

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This review is not a review of the story of Odysseus, but rather a review of Robert Fagles's translation of the Odyssey. Fagles's work in this translation is sparkling. I absolutely love the way he's revived this classic tale.

Let me begin with nuts and bolts. The Penguin Classics version of Fagles's translation is simply a great book to hold in your hand. The book FEELS good. Also, the book has some extras that make it essential. First, Barnard Knox has written an excellent introduction to the text. He explains Homer's cultural and literary context, and he covers the various debates regarding the poem's creation and transmission in a thorough, non-technical manner. Highly recommended reading. Second, the book has some helpful maps of the Greek-speaking lands to help orient the reader. Third, in the back of the book is a pronunciation guide and glossary. Some of these names are a bit strange, so it's helpful to refer to the back sometimes to get some help. Every character and place in the book, no matter how minor, is explained in the back.

In addition to all these benefits, this translation of the text is my absolute favorite. Fagles has produced a verse translation, which preserves the poetic nature of the original. If you're looking for a prose version of Homer, then this book might not be for you (but I'd suggest you give the verse a try). Fagles's main competition for a verse version of the Odyssey is Richard Lattimore's which was published in the 1960s. Some people feel that Lattimore's version is still superior, but I think those people are just being snobby. Lattimore's version is a little more rigid, maybe a little closer to the Greek, but not as poetic and enjoyable.

One of my favorite things about Fagles over Lattimore is that Fagles has abandoned the pretentious adherence to Greek spellings. In Lattimore we read about Athene, Kalypso, Aithiopians, Kronos, and Ithaka, while in Fagles we read about Athena, Calypso, Ethiopians, Cronus, and Ithaca. It's an Enlish translation so translating the names into their traditional English forms makes for a superior reading experience. Also, Fagles has a better ear for English poetry. So he refers to Odysseus as "the man of twists and turns," while Lattimore calls him "the man of many ways." Lattimore is more literal, but he doesn't capture the essence of the Greek meaning or poetic nature as well as Fagles does. One more example from the first page, Lattimore says that those who made it home from the Trojan War "escaped the sea and the fighting." Compare this with Fagles's far more literary "escaped the wars and waves."

Buy this Fagles translation. Read this Falges translation. Love this Fagles translation.

It wasn't easy, but I have to admit I had a great time reading Robert Fagles' translation of the Odyssey. I thought his translation offered just the right compromise between using "elevated language" and readability. Also, I liked the traditional verse format Fagles retained, even though the English version had no rhyme scheme or strict metric format found in the original. The shorter lines made it easier to read.

The 70-page introduction by Bernard Knox also helped quite a bit. It focused mostly on higher themes of the Odyssey, which was great. There are also excellent explanatory notes on specific lines at the end of the book. I read all these notes before I read that particular section to avoid flipping back and forth too much. I also kept a copy of Cliff's notes along side me, reading the upcoming chapter in Cliff's before reading the real text.

As I was saying, it wasn't easy, but the Odyssey and the Iliad are such basic texts that all this effort was well worth it. I still have a hard time accepting that the text was written in roughly 800 BC, yet the insight into what it's like to be human seemed so real. No wonder this edition was a best seller when it came out 20 years ago, re-inspiring movies and television shows.

Fagles' Iliad is next!

I recommend this translation for anyone who loves this story, and tried to read it before and gave up. This book is an easy, flowing, beautiful read. Some readers may disagree with some of the translator's choices. For instance, the scene where Odysseus must carefully explain to Calypso why he wants to leave her - this translation has him say that he longs to travel home and see the dawn of his return. I prefer it translated as he longs for his homecoming. There are some very ancient-Greek reasons why that way of saying it conveys a fuller meaning, and also explains why Calypso doesn't press him further. But, unless you're a scholar of Homerian epics, you probably won't feel cheated by this translation. Instead, you will be transported by the poetry, excited by the adventure, and delighted by the fact that you are reading this great work of art without struggle.

If you want to know about the translation, better read another review because I am no expert on translations of classic literature.

All I have to say, is that I sincerely relished every page of Homer's Odyssey. Literary experts (such as my English professors at college) may find fault or excellence in the translation, but for me...I was taken on an unforgettable and exhilarating literary adventure!

Truth be told, I could not put the book down! It was just refreshing to read a story that was so rich in content! For 10 dollars, you will get so much more value and worth from reading Homer's genius, than you will buying some clearance DVD. The words you read will wash over you and take you to places you never dreamt possible.

That is the beauty of good writing. Further yet, that is the beauty of classic literature!

...I'm not expert on translations, I'm just a college kid who, for the first time in a long while, got the ride of his life in an epic journey of heroism!

I had to read this for my Language Arts class, and this version was recommended by our teacher. I've read some reviews talking about its accuracy, but I'm not an expert on Homer's writings, so I wouldn't know too much about that.

Let me start off by saying that this book shipped very quickly, despite the fact that I chose standard shipping (5-8 days). It shipped in two. Also, this book is light and compact, so it's easy to carry around if you plan on bringing it someplace with you. The only complaint about this I have is that I like to keep my book in pristine condition, and the cover and pages are very thin. There is another version with the exact same translation but with thicker pages and a more rigid cover, which I would have got if I knew there was one. It's all based on preference, though.

Now on to the book. I am usually terrible at reading, but I will say this translation makes it easy and even pleasurable to read the story of Odysseus. Fagles does a superb job of translating the story into modern English so that it can be read with ease. Although it is a translation, it still keeps the structure of the Greek original, using a consistent meter. Fagles also adds other poetic elements such as alliteration to make reading this book more interesting and enjoyable.

All in all, if you need the Odyssey for a class, or you are just an avid reader hoping to find a readable translation of the Odyssey, this is for you. Translated so poetically and with vocabulary that in understandable, this is probably one of the best translations of the Odyssey you can get. (I still would recommend getting the harder paperback version though.)

I've read the Odyssey several times, in a few different translations. This is the one that brought it to life for me. Fagles translates into verse, that manages to be both vivid and precise. Homer wasn't one to waste words, and Fagles doesn't either. Sometimes verse can slow things down, force you to read things twice. This verse doesn't - it seems to leap off the page. You can almost taste the salty spray of the sea, you feel the blunt terror in the cave of the cyclops, you sense the longing of Odysseus to be home and restored to his place of honor and ease in rocky Ithaca alongside his wife, who he nevertheless wonders about, whether she's been loyal or betrayed him as did the wife of king Agamemnon. It's a rich text, that reveals the importance of telling stories, the values of hospitality, the problematic virtues that underlay Greek heroics. An essential book, that is not at all a chore to read in this elegant translation. Highly recommended.

Fagle's translation of the Odyssey is excellent as is Knox' knowledgeable foreward. During my life, I've read both the Iliad and Odyssey half a dozen times or more, by various translators, and regard Fagle's version as the best. I don't read Greek, ancient or modern, so, like most of us, I am unable to read the subtleties, glory and poetry of the original tales. I rather suspect, however, the Fagle's interpretation gets us close, indeed.

Every time I read the story...at different stages of my life...I read different things into the tale. This times, perhaps, I am more aware of the duplicity that is the very substance of the hero, Odysseus. Lies...complex, detailed lies...flow from his lips as easily and quickly as water poured from a flask. True, his lies usually serve a 'greater' purpose, but they are still lies...a fact of which gives Odysseus no problem.

Since reading the 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey' as a teenager, I've always been partial to the directness and overall simplicity of the 'Iliad.' Believability is also a factor. The Trojan War, some of the characters in it and some of the action details are almost certainly based in reality. The 'Odyssey', far lesss so. It seems to be a collection of out-and-out fables in which Odysseus is the primary player. Still....even fables may have echoes of the truth. Could Odysseus have been away from Ithaca for twenty years and would his wife have remained faithful all this time? Quite possibly.

The story of Odysseus' experiences with the goddesses, Circe and Calypso, are fascinating but, of course, fabulous. They also account for most of the time Odysseus spends on his long path home. This might be a fanciful way of dealing with reality. Odysseus may have been captured on his way home and held as a slave. This reality could definitely 'eat up' years of time but the Circe/Calypso stories are far more interesting and add to Odysseus' reputation as a very accomplished ladies man. Later, although, Odysseus has spent so much time as a virtual sexual slave to the goddesses, he happily recounts the adventures to his wife, Penelope. Penelope isn't offended. Afterall, her husband turned down goddesses and eternal blissful life, in favor of return to his wife of many years. It's one heck of a compliment.

There are a couple of other features that I noted that, again, may be rooted in reality. Twice, Odysseus lies that he is from Crete and that he led an unsuccessful attack on the peoples of the Nile Delta. A number of Egyptian accounts report accounts of attacks by 'The Peoples of the Sea'. Could the Achaean Greeks, in their black ships, have been some, or most, of the Sea Peoples?

Also, the death of Agammemnon, should also be noted. This may also be based on reality. Agammemnon, commander of all Achaean Greek forces against Troy, and King of Achaea's most powerful city, Mycenae, is slain by his wife and her lover. The motive is given as sexual infidelity and greed...greed for the throne of Mycenae. In the Odyssey we learn a fascinating 'detail'. Clytemnestra, Agammemnon's murderous wife, slaughters the slave-captive, Cassandra, on Agammemnon's just-killed body.

Hmmmmmm? Why would Clytemnestra kill a valuable slave? Cassandra, of course, was a Princess of demolished Troy and had been violently raped during the destruction of the city. Nevertheless, it would appear that Clytemnestra hated or feared Cassandra. Why? Probably the oldest reason of all...sexual jealousy. Cassandra's murder suggests that the REAL motive for Agammemnon's killing is quite different than usually represented. He may have preferred the company of Cassandra to that of his queen. Clytemnestra reacted with her well-known violence...a woman jilted.

Also, is it conceivable that the Queen, Penelope, could be held virtual prisoner in her own palace...for years...by 100 or so rampaging suitors? The answer must be 'No' but there are some interesting things to note. Odysseus' father, Laertes, would logically be King, but his son, Odysseus, IS King, which leaves a 20 year vacancy to the throne. We learn that Laertes, mourning over his lost son, lives in rags and poverty as a barely surviving farmer. Possible. Depression and/or mental illness. But why not Odysseus' son, Telemachus?

At the time the first suitors might have 'settled in' to pay court to Penolope and to eat up her wealth, Telemachus would have been underaged. The suitors, who would have become more arrogant and confident, would scarecely have Telemachus the opportunity to claim the throne. Still......it's a far-fetched tale.

Ron Braithwaite, author of novels...'Skull Rack' and 'Hummingbird God'...on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico

Robert Fagles' translation of Homer's "The Iliad" is rightly spoken highly of. The companion piece to "The Iliad," "The Odyssey," is likewise a highly estimable work. As with the earlier work, Bernard Knox's thoughtful Introduction provides a valuable context for the epic poem.

As those interested in Homer know, "The Odyssey" is the follow up to the earlier work. Here, Odysseus' life after the Trojan War is chronicled. His peregrinations throughout the seas is well described. The difficult straits of his wife, Penelope, are outlined, as suitors try to win her hand in marriage after the assumed death of Odysseus. Also central to the story line is the growth of Odysseus' son, Telemachus.

After many travails, and being punished at the hands of the gods, Odysseus returns to his home after ten years. There, he takes care of the suitors in a most sanguinary way, in concert with his son, and reclaims his place at the side of Penelope.

A sprawling story, with a terrific translation by Fagles. This is a welcome addition to one's library.

I don't know how long it's been since you read The Odyssey, but the chanced are you skipped one or more of the twenty-four books that comprise the story. Since your last reading of the classic, there can be little doubt that you've come across countless references and allusions to the novel. You may be ready for a re-reading. Homer's cast of characters-from Polyphemus, the Cyclops, to Circe, the goddess of Aeaea, who changes men to swine, to Calypso, the other goddess-nymph who falls in love with Odysseus-are bound to bring back memories of your high school reading experience. You may find yourself longing for those days before cheesy pick-up lines, when men were men and flirted with women such as Nausicaa like this:

"Are you a goddess or a mortal? If one of the gods
who rule the skies up there, you're Artemis to the life,
the daughter of mighty Zeus-I see her now-just look
at your build, your bearing, your lithe flowing grace...
But if you're one of the mortals living here on earth,
Three times blest are your father, your queenly mother,
Three times over your brothers too. How often their hearts
Must warm with joy to see you striding into the dances-
Such a bloom of beauty...
I look at you and a sense of wonder takes me.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's a poem twelve thousand lines long. Put it at your bedside and read 300 lines a night and by the next issue of The Post, you'll be ready for The Iliad, too.

this is an amazing book, with something for anyone. if you are interested in studying philosophy, you'll find it here. but, you can also read a great adventure story with fables and a love story written in. in that sense, this is a great translation; if you want to read this for the sake of entertainment, Fagles is a great translator. if you want to read for philosophical discussion, however, he might not serve your purposes. the thing you have to know about Fagles is, he often inserts adjectives and the feel of the entire story changes. so, if you want fidelity to the Greek words, try Lattimore. if you want fidelity to the Greek metrical sense, try Mandelbaum or Pope. and if you want fidelity to the Greek adventure epic, Fagles is your guy.