The Odyssey (Oxford World's Classics)
by Homer
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List Price: ££5.99
Our Price: ££1.96
Your Save: £ 0.00 ( % )
Availability:
Manufacturer: Oxford Paperbacks
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 883.01
EAN: 9780192833754
ISBN: 0192833758
Label: Oxford Paperbacks
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 1998-03-05
Publisher: Oxford Paperbacks
Studio: Oxford Paperbacks
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Worth the effort
Comment: Shrewing's translation gives readers an accessible version of the Odyssey, yet, importantly, one that is not dumbed down. This classic Homeric epic operates, in my opinion, on more subtle levels than its arguably more 'exciting' counterpart, 'The Iliad'. Therefore, if you are prepared to make the effort and spend some time getting through the more taxing phases of the narrative, this book has a lot to offer. Odysseus is a multi layered character that avoids cliche at various stages, leading to unpredictable actions and emotional shifts.
What's more, The Odyssey still provides the charm, imagination and large scale action that we would expect from Greek myth. Well worth the effort!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Classic Adventure
Comment: I read this after reading the Oxford World's Classic version of the Illiad. While the Illiad has the more charismatic characters and the energy and excitement of epic battles, quarrelling gods and heroes like Achilles, Ajax and Hector, the Odyssey is I think the better read. The prose style of this version is especially effective and this is a ancient boys own adventure. Its probably not something you'll read in a day or so, but its worth the effort.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Go Odysseus! Get those dastardly suitors!
Comment: Let's be clear: If you're anything like me, you won't zoom through this book in one night. It's an old story, and, although the translation isn't exactly as hard to understand as Shakespeare is for anyone under 50, it's not going to let you ram through The Odyssey in the blink of an eye. It takes a bit of effort to read and you're always taking a bit of a risk when you try to look all intellectual and read a classic, but it's well worth it in the end.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Grim myth, excellent translation
Comment: I haven't read any other translations of 'The Odyssey', so don't have any grounds for comparison but, in terms of style alone, can heartily recommend Walter Shewring's effort. The language is clear and avoids the trap of being too archaic just because it is an old story (3000 years old, give or take). I read the odd classic and tend to take a deep breath before I start, preparing for the occasional hard slog. 'The Odyssey' was a surprisingly easy and enjoyable read.
The story itself is fairly familiar. Odysseus is delayed on his return home from Troy by the anger of the Gods. He faces many trials, such as the Sirens and the Cyclops before his is reunited with his son (Telemachus) and, ultimately, his wife. Before he can resume his old life, however, he must dispatch the suitors who have gathered to wed his wife, believing that he is dead. All the while he is being helped and hindered by the Gods. Before reading this, I hadn't realised that Odysseus' adventures are told as a flashback after his return to Ithica, and that they take up only about half of the book. The second half concerns the slaughter of the suitors and is slower moving, but still immensely enjoyable. The bloodthirstyness, and body count, rivals an average Schwarzenegger movie, as Odysseus fornicates and hacks his way round the Agean Sea. Not one for the children.
If you, like me, wanted to read 'The Odyssey' because of its status, but weren't really looking forward to it, then go for this translation. It captures the tone brilliantly, but is never over-stuffy or grandiose. I enjoyed it a lot and, like the blurb on the back, don't see how it could be better.
Customer Rating:
Summary: War and Penelope.
Comment: I hope that those who read my review will forgive me because I would like to talk mainly about Penelope, the wife of Odysseus. When I read the Odyssey for the first time, I thought it was a wonderful adventure book with beautiful and dangerous women and I laughed with that half-wit of a Polyphemus, one of the cyclops. But near the end something was missing, it was not what it should be. Odysseus came home. His son Telemachus and his swineherd were glad and his dog could finally die with the comforting knowledge that it's master was among the living. Why didn't Penelope make a joyful sound ? Why was she so silent ? I shrugged my shoulders and said:'women!'. It's only years later I began to understand a little. So many people died in the Trojan war. The many adorers of Penelope were slaughtered by Odysseus with no compassion at all. The silence of Penelope was a reproachful silence. She was wondering how many more dead people it would take before men could live in peace. We still ask that question
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