The epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature.
HOMER is thought to have lived c.750-700 BC in Ionia and is
believed to be the author of the earliest works of Western
Literature- The Odyssey and The Iliad.
E. V. RIEU was a celebrated translator from Latin and Greek, and
editor of Penguin Classics from 1944-64. His son, D. C. H. RIEU,
has revised his work.
PETER JONES is former lecturer in Classics at Newcastle. He
co-founded the 'Friends of Classics' society and is the editor of
their journal and a columnist for The Spectator.
“[Robert Fitzgerald’s translation is] a masterpiece . . . An
Odyssey worthy of the original.” –The Nation
“[Fitzgerald’s Odyssey and Iliad] open up once more the unique
greatness of Homer’s art at the level above the formula; yet at the
same time they do not neglect the brilliant texture of Homeric
verse at the level of the line and the phrase.” –The Yale
Review
“[In] Robert Fitzgerald’s translation . . . there is no anxious
straining after mighty effects, but rather a constant readiness for
what the occasion demands, a kind of Odyssean adequacy to the task
in hand, and this line-by-line vigilance builds up into a
completely credible imagined world.”
–from the Introduction by Seamus Heaney
Gr 6 Up-Concise and briskly paced, this dynamic comic-book version streamlines Homer's plot and zooms in on the all-out monster-trouncing, enchantress-encountering, death-defying action. The exploits of the square-jawed Odysseus are resplendent in bold lines and jewel tones while the fickle gods and goddesses shimmer in translucent hues. A reader-grabbing intro to the epic. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
There is no better way to encounter an epic that derives from an oral tradition than to hear it narrated by a fine Shakespearean actor. This requires a great translation, and this shining new verse translation by Robert Fagles‘who also translated The Iliad (Audio Reviews, LJ 7/92)‘has been rightly hailed as a masterpiece. It captures, in swift rhythms and flawless utterance, the tone, the temper, the very life of Homer's antic world without once sounding antiquated. The tale of Odysseus's long-awaited return from the Trojan Wars is majestically realized by Ian McKellan (seen most recently on film in Cold Comfort Farm and Richard III). Resisting every temptation to ham Homer's bardic lines, the sonorous-voiced McKellan hits home with truthful simplicity throughout, as if he were spinning out a heartfelt story during a long night in a pub. A fine introduction by Bernard Knox is included, but Penguin has reached new heights in bad presentation values, insuring instant destruction of the plastic containers within, while the music sounds like a petrified chicken on an infant's keyboard. But the words, like Homer's gods, are deathless. What more can a listener ask for? Highly recommended for all collections.‘Peter Josyph, New York
"[Robert Fitzgerald's translation is] a masterpiece . . . An
Odyssey worthy of the original." -The Nation
"[Fitzgerald's Odyssey and Iliad] open up once more
the unique greatness of Homer's art at the level above the formula;
yet at the same time they do not neglect the brilliant texture of
Homeric verse at the level of the line and the phrase." -The
Yale Review
"[In] Robert Fitzgerald's translation . . . there is no anxious
straining after mighty effects, but rather a constant readiness for
what the occasion demands, a kind of Odyssean adequacy to the task
in hand, and this line-by-line vigilance builds up into a
completely credible imagined world."
-from the Introduction by Seamus Heaney
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