Reviews

Iliad and Odyssey by Homer

minnowlappi's review against another edition

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adventurous funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

mo_ika's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

samerulesapply's review against another edition

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challenging informative tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

davidfox's review against another edition

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5.0

I think the Fagles' translation really captures the thrill and grandeur of the tale. It was after all meant to be read aloud for an audience.

dohaadel's review against another edition

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3.0

It took me long enough to finish this, but I'm glad I did it.

lindzwallace's review against another edition

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2.0

I haven't finished it. The recording and translation are fine, but I find the convention of introducing each section with a summary, the telling the tale, then ending the section with the summary again boring boyond words. If anyone knows of a version that avoides this (in print or audio), please let me know.

xshyartistx's review against another edition

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slow-paced

5.0

levininja's review against another edition

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3.0

This translation is supposed to be natural, but sometimes it does ridiculous things like "all big and bigly" and "all huge and hugely." Would definitely look for a different translation next time through.

tibbarasden's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

3.0

It took me 9 months, but I finally finished. The majority of this time was on the Iliad. I am glad I persevered, but man, was it a slog. So and so son of so and so. The descriptions of the violence of war were even repetitive. The only thing I enjoyed in that book was the gods meddling. I was mainly excited for the Odyssey as I remember reading it in high school. The beginning and the end weren't my favorite, but when Odysseus is telling about his journey back, I loved it. That was the part that has stuck with me all these years, so I wasn't really surprised. The end had more son of so and so and gets very repetitive again, but at this point, I had devoted so much time that I wasn't giving up until I finished. The men in the story are whiney, boastful, and hypocritical, and the women have little substance and are overly dramatic. Really, the only part worth reading is Odysseus' journey back to Ithaca.

poetry_birb's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny informative mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Amazing language, tragic themes, and so so so good.