Reviews - The Iliad | The StoryGraph

4.89k reviews for:

The Iliad

Homer

3.8 AVERAGE

khill33books's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 29%

Was just too many names and places I didn’t know and not a whole Lot of action yet. I found a better version of the history of troy I plan on listening to

eay_123's review against another edition

Booooooring!

superstar_y2k's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

alison_kinney's review against another edition

5.0

I’m often kept up at night brooding on my troubles, wishing I could find some solace that would help me sleep. But now I know that the best way to keep insomnia at bay is to get out of bed, hitch up my chariot, tie the corpse of my mortal enemy to the back, and drive around for a few hours, dragging him, until I cheer up and can go back to sleep. The Iliad is unmatched, in my reading, for works that describe the bloody, ridiculous, selfish lengths people will go in order to feel better. The sticks and stones fly (and gouge out eyes, smash skulls, slash livers and veins until the blood sprays–this poem is definitely not for the squeamish), but the real weapons of the Trojan War are name-calling, cheating at games, and stealing your best buddy’s girlfriend or mixing bowl or ox. Most of the action occurs when somebody gets his feelings hurt, the baddie won’t apologize, and the sensitive one throws a fit, which can involve letting all of his friends die while he gets an olive-oil massage, or else razing a city, raping the women, and joyriding over other men’s bones. The Iliad suggests that even at its most glorious, war can be advocated only by people with the emotional lives of spoiled four-year-olds....

For more thoughts, see my post:
http://alisonkinney.com/2015/07/23/homer-iliad/

karaed's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

phoires's review against another edition

5.0

this one is my new favourite translation of the iliad....her translation is so good and so clear.

that aside, i'm (once again) devastated, i keep forgetting how present grief is all through this goddamn book (wow no shit). truly a timeless story i will never get tired of it.

confused_hamburger's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A momentous text, sprawling with a rich and extensive world that Homer lavishly crafts over the course of the poem. Homer is so adept at portraying the utter meaninglessness of war- both sides over the course of this poem's pages grapple with its tragedy, with the rage and heartbreak it causes, how it turns people into monsters. The best moments here are those where Trojans and Dardanians are reconciled, even slightly, namely with Glaucus and Diomedes, and Priam and Achilles. There is an incredible sense of tragic fate throughout, where characters' actions are rendered hopeless in fighting against their fate. Homer is notable in his empathy for both sides, despite being a Greek himself. Both the Trojans and the Achaeans are ultimately given humanity, and from both sides memorable characters spring to life, be it Achilles and his wrath, Hector and his pride, Sarpedon facing death, or Ajax standing at the helm, the last one fighting for the survival of the Greeks. I especially love how every time a soldier is killed off they are named, and a bit about their life is given, personifying them within the brutal scope of the war. Ultimately, Homer paints a picture broad in its moral exploration and dripping with loss and poignancy. It seems that we still, even thousands of years later, remain the same as the Trojans and the Achaeans, fighting unjustifiable wars, our fates resting at the amused hands of the gods. This is truly a timeless text, and the story of the Trojan War is one that haunts us even now. No wonder it's the birth of Western literature.