Scan barcode
A review by marsius
The Odyssey by Homer
5.0
It's difficult to separate reviewing Emily Wilson's translation qua translation and the underlying work. The worthiness of the underlying work I'll leave to others. Personally, I think it's an important part of the canon, but also that, like Don Quixote, the techniques developed since result in substantially better works. It's a worthwhile read at least once in one's life if nothing else but to understand later works, but it's also frustrating in the ways that only a 2900 year old work can be.
The translation, on the other hand, is unquestionably brilliant. Eminently more readable than the version I was forced to slog through in school, and the fidelity to the text seems quite good. Wilson has managed to thoroughly modernize the language and phrasings without sacrificing the underlying work, and that's quite the achievement. Five stars for the translation, and I'll leave others to review the work itself.
The translation, on the other hand, is unquestionably brilliant. Eminently more readable than the version I was forced to slog through in school, and the fidelity to the text seems quite good. Wilson has managed to thoroughly modernize the language and phrasings without sacrificing the underlying work, and that's quite the achievement. Five stars for the translation, and I'll leave others to review the work itself.