Product Description

Homer's epic tells of the adventures of Odysseus, the mythological King of Ithaca and leader of the Trojan war, recounting the hero's wanderings and his eventual regaining of his kingdom.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #155087 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 407 pages

Customer Reviews

Simply Excellent - Highly Readable
I bought this book at a local book store that had many copies so I assume it is readily available, but currently out of stock on Amazon.com.

The thing that attracted me to this particular version of the Odyssey by Homer was the translation by T.E. Lawrence (i.e.: T.E Shaw) - yes that Lawrence of Arabia. Apparently he carried a worn copy around for four years and produced this translation of the famous epic adventure. According to various Odyssy scholars this 1930 period translation remains important: "for it was the first translation which succeeded in offering both the spirit and the narrative of the Greek original".

There are a number of things about the book worth noting. The first is the introduction by Lawrence to his work. It is just a four page introduction but it makes one nervous since his writing seems to be in the William F. Buckley style where writers use complicated phrases and words to impress the reader or entertain themselves but make the whole reading experience somewhat opaque. But fortunately that disappears in the translation itself.

The translation is clear and highly readable like a Tom Clancy or Jack London novel or similar. The words just flow along and the 400 pages quickly pass by. It is an interesting and entertaining story and this translation is well executed.

Not being a Greek scholar or similar I found the first 10 pages or so slow going since I was not familiar with all the different Gods - such as Zeuss, Poseidon, etc and how these all came into play. But once that is absorbed, the story is like any other novel - but here of course the ancient tale of the trip by Odysseus home to Ithaca after battles in Troy, and his son Telemachus and his wife Penelope who stayed in Ithaca. It is the epic story of fights with Cyclops, the Goddess Athene, daring sea voyages, great feasts, singing, and many close calls with death.

A superb story that has lasted through the ages.