Scan barcode
whimsicalmeerkat's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful and fascinating. The Odyssey in a Caribbean setting. Wonderful.
savaging's review against another edition
4.0
Reading this I thought about what Lucille Clifton said when she read Toni Cade Bambara's stories: "She has captured it all, how we really talk . . . She must love us very much."
Recasting the big Greek epics in the lives of the Black fishermen, bus drivers, and maids of Santa Lucia, I feel Walcott must love them very much.
Clifton also wrote:
Study the Masters
like my aunt timmie.
it was her iron,
or one like hers,
that smoothed the sheets
the master poet slept on.
Walcott has studied the masters of western literature, but the real masters he returns to in Omeros are the people he grew up with. And the dogs, the birds, the waves.
Recasting the big Greek epics in the lives of the Black fishermen, bus drivers, and maids of Santa Lucia, I feel Walcott must love them very much.
Clifton also wrote:
Study the Masters
like my aunt timmie.
it was her iron,
or one like hers,
that smoothed the sheets
the master poet slept on.
Walcott has studied the masters of western literature, but the real masters he returns to in Omeros are the people he grew up with. And the dogs, the birds, the waves.
wolfbridge's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
4.75
I really should give this 5 stars for how brilliantly crafted it is. The language is just too opaque for a plebeian such as myself. But it’s a powerful and intricate text.
tea_cosy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Probably could have been a hundred pages shorter
Swirling intriguing poem that felt like a trip to the Caribbean
Swirling intriguing poem that felt like a trip to the Caribbean
jessnev's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
adastrame's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh, I don't get it and the "verse" is just terrible.
karinlib's review against another edition
4.0
I don't normally read books of verse, much less epic poetry, I prefer prose. I found Walcott's poetry, beautiful, even if I didn't understand it completely. Walcott describes his home of St. Lucia in such a way that I can taste the salt and feel the burning sun.
rageofachilles's review against another edition
4.0
I'm always chomping at the bit to give contemporary epics a try, though rare they are. I have John G. Neilhardt's Cycle of the West, but Walcott's Omeros is the more polished and important attempt at an adaptation of Homer (set in the West Indies). I would recommend anyone interested in Epics, post-colonialism, or good poetry in general to check this book out. It is a difficult read but worth it if you want to put the work in.
rpmahnke's review against another edition
5.0
Read Emily Wilson’s translation of the Odyssey just before.