Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - The Odyssey

I've read a different version of Homer's work but I was intrigued by this one and I have to say that I do love Wilson's translation of this epic poem.
Her use of modern language and choice of iambic pentameter for her translation felt new and contemporary and it was easier to read and visualize for me. This alone was a challenge as she managed to keep the same number of verses from the original Greek!
I never saw the big hero that others did in Odysseus, yes he had adventures and some were heroic indeed, but the man himself ...no I never truly saw it and in Wilson's translation I get some vindication as here we see a complicated man, an unreliable narrator to his own quests, a mischief maker, a doubter of his wife who he left alone for 20+ years while he himself is a huge flirt.
Wilson's translation is quite honestly a great read and a challenging one that makes you wonder about previous translations but even the violence is felt to be more violent and brutal and I can't tell if that's the modernized wording or if it was always there just worded differently so that it didn't come across as such.
All in all, I'm tempted to read Wilson's take on the Illiad.

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seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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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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kaitlyng's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

4.25

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tamara_joy's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging sad tense slow-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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breedawnwriter's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Loveable characters? No

3.0

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biab00's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

I read this for a class and was expecting to find it it kinda boring cuz it's a long and old book, but It actually surprised in a good way. The parts that stick out the most to me were the adventures that he had to go through his journey (like the cycloids and the Circe episodes, which are probably my favorites).
There were some parts that made me bored, but it wasn't to much to make me dnf it. Also this book is really violent and graphic and I did not expect that too wow.

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madmilliner's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

3.0

Its a good story, but, there are SO MANY REPETITIVE WORDS (yes, I know it's an "Epic poem") but, good grief! It's a plethora of redundancy, for a story that I personally would have enjoyed; in a more stripped down, less poetic telling.

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