The Odyssey: The Fitzgerald Translation

By Jove--this is something else.

Firstly, if you are interested in this book, get background information on Greek mythology, The Iliad, and The Odyssey. Familiarize yourself with Homer's style, the different spellings of names, etc. It's especially good to read this in school, which is where I read it first, because the teacher has knowledge of the epic and can help you in reading it.

The Odyssey is really, something else. It and its partner The Iliad have their own style of story-telling, characterization, and description.
Homer, the storyteller, possesses a powerful and confident voice. As my English teacher said, "Homer is the MAN of epics", and that could not be a lie. The text is hard to read at first, because it contains advanced language, some archaic words, and the reader needs to familiarize themselves with the cultural background of ancient Greece. However, the text becomes enjoyable and rhythmic as the story progresses, making the reader wanting to read NOTHING ELSE but Homer.

The storyline itself is AMAZING, but even more than that. It's chaotic, contains plot twists...it's possibly one of the IDEAL stories of all time.
Odysseus' journey to return home to Ithaka is filled with life themes such as despondency, peril, greed, and bravery. It's emotionally moving and thought-provoking as one reads of the lives Odysseus, Telemachus, and Penelope lead after the Trojan War, and awaiting the reunion of their family. Odysseus' own 'odyssey' is filled with dangerous monsters, promiscious nymphs, and sorrow-filled nights at sea.

Figuratively, The Odyssey parallels real life, because each life is an 'odyssey'. We all face our monsters, promiscious nymphs, and sorrow-filled nights, but also the rage of battle against suitors and the joy of finally returning home.

This book is not bad, but I had some difficulty understanding it. It's a lot of reading, and lots of words in there that I don't know, which is kind of irritating because I'm too lazy to look up 5 million words per page just to understand ONE PAGE. Anyway, that's not important.

This version of translation is considered to be the closest to the original greek version, so reading this book might as well be reading what Homer actually wrote. It's well written, filled with full of imagery, metaphor, homeric similes, advantures, personifications, etc. It's very "visualistic." A masterpiece, no doubt!!

The Odyssy, is a classic book written by Homer himself that stars the famous Hero Odysseus, his son Telemachus, and the goddess Athena. Homer was a greek poet and aoidos that wrote both The Iliad and The Odyssey. No classic can compare to The Odyssey.

In the story, The gods of Olympus finally decide to guide Odysseus home. He reaches a famous land where the people gladdly take him in. As he is kept there he tells them how he ended up marooned on the island he sailed from. He tells them of his battle with the anciant cyclops Polypheumus, his outsmarting of the charming goddess Circe, and his other famous adventures. After he finishes his story, his hosts take him over seas to his home land where he has revenge on the fowl suiters who took his place on the throne and allowed crime to roam through the streets. But i will not say if he lives or not. That is for you people to find out.

This book is so interesting that i bet all fictional readers would give it a 5 star each, because i certainly do. The big reason I liked the book was because it had a perfect mixture of fantasy, adventure, sorrow, action, and romance. Very good read for those who love this stuff.

this book is definitely one of the most boring books i have ever read! it could not hold my attention for more than two minutes, and ordinarily i have a long attention span. it was a horrible book, and i hope i never have to read anything like it again.

Most excellent translation of Homer you will find.
Fitzgerald's epic translation of THE ODYSSEY, which
is the classic journey story of all time, has no
forcedness to it, has no unnatural feel--it has
the rhythm of the waves Odysseus sails to return
to his beloved, Penelope.
Odysseus, additionally, is a classic scout,
and master of all that is clandestine. The poem,
which is the first great novel of the West,
is also the first classic journey novel, ever.
If you are not versed in Greek mythology prior
to reading this book, you will be once you've
put it down. But, be advised, it reads better
if you've first read Edith Hamilton's works on
Greek mythology. And, of course, read THE ILIAD
first, and read Fitzgerald's translation.
Homer knew something Ezra Pound never knew:
if you make it sing, it's new forever. Homer
made every line sing, and every line has stayed
new forever. Five Stars.