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The Odyssey

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The Odyssey

By: Homer
Narrated by: John Lee
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In this classic epic chronicle of the Greek Hero on his travels home from the Trojan War, Odysseus survives storm and shipwreck, the cave of the Cyclops, and the isle of Circe. He withstands the lure of the Sirens’ song and a trip to the Underworld, only to find his most difficult challenge at home, where treacherous suitors seek to steal his kingdom and his loyal wife, Penelope.

Favorite of the gods, Odysseus embodies the energy, intellect, and resourcefulness that were of highest value to the ancients and that remain ideals to this day.

In this audiobook recording, translated by Samuel Butler, realize again the power and beauty of the original Greek verse, which demonstrates why the epic tale of THE ODYSSEY inspired such writers as Virgil and James Joyce, and captured the human imagination for nearly three thousand years.(P)2006 Books on Tape Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature Epic European Fantasy Literary History & Criticism Poetry Themes & Styles World Literature
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Critic reviews

“[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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I first read the Odyssey thirty years ago on a bus journey from Cardiff to Sunderland via London which took over sixteen hours to complete and cost ?9.40 return (hence the via London bit). The great advantage was that I was able to read it in one sitting. Once you get over the endless strings of names and the very picaresque style, it is possible to enjoy The Odyssey as a good read in itself. However, the real beauty of this book is to marvel at the thought that Troy was destroyed in 1188 BC and that this huge work dates from around the 9th Century BC - and to consider the huge influence that it holds over all modern literature. Calypso, the Oxen of the Sun, Cyclops, Mentor, the Sirens, Scylla and Charybdis - are all here together with so much more that is familiar and yet strange. I first read this in order to get the inside edge on James Joyce - but on re-reading got so much more. Like all great works, it improves with age!

Homer from Home

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