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zak_e's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bwagner17's review against another edition
3.0
Super quick read and the language was easy to understand! Definitely one of the better books I have had to read for school.
chaos_positive's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aboutabookpodcast's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thishannah's review against another edition
Reading Madeline Circe put me in the mood for more Odysseus, so I decided to reread this play that I've had on my shelves since college, and that I ostensibly wrote an essay about at some point. My annotations in the margins were uninspiring, though, so I suspect it was not a great essay.
I liked this play and its language quite a lot--it felt ancient and modern at the same time (an obvious interpretation, I know). The rhythm and near rhymes felt so fluid and moved the story quickly.
I liked this play and its language quite a lot--it felt ancient and modern at the same time (an obvious interpretation, I know). The rhythm and near rhymes felt so fluid and moved the story quickly.
abubble124's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
it was a school book and i normally like school books but this one was alright. but not that bad
ellasm's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
booknookat2006's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jasonfurman's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this play. There is something exciting about reading a completely new Greek tragedy and having the experience that even most Greeks watching the tragedy for the first time didn’t have, which is a modicum of suspense in how it will actually turn out. I didn’t know the story of Odysseus taking Achilles’ son Neoptolemus to bring back the wounded Philoctetes from an island because it was prophesied that he needed to return to Troy in order for the Greeks to win the war. Moreover, the play itself does not have a lot of foreshadowing that gives it away.
The play itself seems among the more psychologically perceptive and realistic of the Greek tragedies. Odysseus effectively pressures the younger and more inexperienced Neoptolemus into lying to Philoctetes (Odysseus’s trickery is portrayed as dishonorable compared to the more honest and forthright use of force). The success of the lie makes Neoptolemus guilty and leads him to recant. In what is arguably a weak resolution, literally a deus ex machina, Heracles comes and persuades Philoctetes to actually go to Troy so that Odysseus and Neoptolemus eventually get their way not through guile or force but divine intervention and inevitability.
I really enjoyed the Seamus Heaney translation. It mostly seems like a straight translation (although I didn’t compare to more rigorous translators), but towards the end he inserted some contemporary references, including to hunger strikers, that effectively (although slightly datedly) underscored the contemporary relevance of the play.
The play itself seems among the more psychologically perceptive and realistic of the Greek tragedies. Odysseus effectively pressures the younger and more inexperienced Neoptolemus into lying to Philoctetes (Odysseus’s trickery is portrayed as dishonorable compared to the more honest and forthright use of force). The success of the lie makes Neoptolemus guilty and leads him to recant. In what is arguably a weak resolution, literally a deus ex machina, Heracles comes and persuades Philoctetes to actually go to Troy so that Odysseus and Neoptolemus eventually get their way not through guile or force but divine intervention and inevitability.
I really enjoyed the Seamus Heaney translation. It mostly seems like a straight translation (although I didn’t compare to more rigorous translators), but towards the end he inserted some contemporary references, including to hunger strikers, that effectively (although slightly datedly) underscored the contemporary relevance of the play.