Reviews with content warning for Death - The Odyssey: (the Stephen Mitchell Translation)

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Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Odyssey: (the Stephen Mitchell Translation) by Homer

46 reviews

mxpringle's review against another edition

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informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I found this interesting to analyze because of the ways that rhetoric is used to have a more powerful analysis of what it means to share stories through poetry. I appreciated having read this because it's a classic that is referenced so often in other works. However, it is relatively boring and dense for the things that happen within the poem, and the characters are incredibly unlikeable. If you're interested in Greek mythology for the plot, this may not be what you're interested in, but it can be more enjoyable in more of an academic setting.

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meganpbennett's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Many years ago, I helped clean out Dr. Mandelbaum's office when he retired, taking box after box of books to the library to see what could be and what should be added to the various library collections,. Manuscripts, books he'd written, translations. I knew he was a Dante scholar, but I didn't realize that he'd also translated Homer and Virgil (Virgil makes a lot of sense, given the role Virgil plays in The Divine Comedy).

Like many people, I'd never read The Odyssey. I knew a bit of the story, but had never read the original text. I knew a little bit about the various translators, and was thrilled with Dr Wilson released her translation, but never read it. I've read enough Greek plays and Roman histories to know that I wasn't really a fan of the literature of that time period.

I finally read it when the library where I work used it as part of our "Read the book, see the movie" series. It's very interesting, but it's also very long. Like a lot of classical literature from the Greek and Roman era, it's a lot of words to describe things that could have been said in one or two. It's hard to get into, since it's in verse, not prose, but once you get into it, it's fun to read.

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

confusing. too much action and violence. only read this because of uni 😪

tbh it would've been a lot more confusing had I not spent my childhood with Rick Riordan's books. Thanks to him for making me able to concentrate lol

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hareada's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful

What a luscious and sparkling translation! After the introduction, which was so accessible and made excellent points on the language of translations, and generally added to my understanding and enjoyment of the story, I had geared myself up for a difficult and tenuous read. But I was surprised by how beautifully simple the language used was. I have read very few ancient texts, so this interpretation is one I would absolutely recommend to beginners like me. In the poem itself, I was surprised by its domesticity, and the fact that half of it take place

upon his return to Ithaca!

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sky_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Read this for my AP Literature class and even though my teacher had us skip a bunch of it, it still felt eternally long. There were definitely some interesting plot points and I enjoyed analyzing Odysseus’ character.

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