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I didn't finish it. It's just a bunch of battles, and I don't think, at this time, can separate my modern ideas from the actual content.
Has to pause on account of moving to the UK and forgetting my copy in Canada.
Tough read, but I'm really glad I did it. Up next, the Odyssey.
This wasn't the story I thought it was. I enjoyed the Odyssey and knew the Illiad was about the Trojan War. When I think Trojan War, I think of the beauty of Helen and the Trojan Horse. The Illiad is about neither. It takes place 10 years into the war, but before it ends. It is mostly a long list of who killed who in what gruesome manner, and a bit of godly and human intrigue sprinkled throughout. Knowing that I probably wouldn't have read it, as battle scenes aren't something that typically appeals to me. However, I do think this translation by Fagles is good. It is in verse and reads smoothly.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled with this book from beginning to end. The wording of it along with unnecessary over-explanations, it was hard for me to grasp onto what I was reading. It came to a point where after every book, I searched up summaries and analysis to understand what I had just read. Very rarely, however, it would get interesting and I’m able to understand what they’re quarreling about. In conclusion, however, I would say that the gods are cruel no matter if they love you or not. Especially, Zeus, the foulest of all. Praise my Queen Hera, though.
This was a struggle. I read/listened to the Samuel Butler version primarily. I did not read this for pleasure, but because I thought it would be good research and also make me a better person.
It was good research. Whether or not I am now a better person is still questionable. I guess I proved I have at least the patience to listen to about 16 different voices read a book for about 10 hours, and to read a string of phrases without line breaks for another 5 hours, so I'm going to say mischief managed on that front, too.
I bet this would have been flippin' impressive to hear someone remember all these names, lineages and insertions from the gods (with verbatim repetitions of earlier conversations!) before we had books, and this was all memorized. But written, it is less amazing, and more like listening to your 11 year old family member go on and on about whatever thing they've spent too much time playing lately. I am told some versions do a great job getting this to feel more relevant, but while this translation may have been quite faithful, it was also tedious in my opinion. But I also almost exclusively read things that zoom by so quickly I can't put it down, so take that with as much salt as Scamander can spare.
It was good research. Whether or not I am now a better person is still questionable. I guess I proved I have at least the patience to listen to about 16 different voices read a book for about 10 hours, and to read a string of phrases without line breaks for another 5 hours, so I'm going to say mischief managed on that front, too.
I bet this would have been flippin' impressive to hear someone remember all these names, lineages and insertions from the gods (with verbatim repetitions of earlier conversations!) before we had books, and this was all memorized. But written, it is less amazing, and more like listening to your 11 year old family member go on and on about whatever thing they've spent too much time playing lately. I am told some versions do a great job getting this to feel more relevant, but while this translation may have been quite faithful, it was also tedious in my opinion. But I also almost exclusively read things that zoom by so quickly I can't put it down, so take that with as much salt as Scamander can spare.
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I mean yeah, of course it gets 5 stars. Nothing lasts this long without earning five.
This was (to my discredit) my first spin through the full text, and I split it between four translations, ranked below with light commentary:
#4 - E. V. Rieu (paperback)
Serviceable. This prose translation was easily the most "readable" of the versions, but that's in part because there were fewer sparks of brilliance to slow me down. It's hard to render a boring version of Homer--it's just too good to ruin--but this one felt flattest to me, the most like reading something assigned to me. Nota bene: this ranking may be entirely about my preference for poetic translations.
#3 - Stephen Mitchell (audio)
The language is far punchier here, and this adaptation is read more than ably by Alfred Molina. Mitchell is a bit too fond of the word "bitch" for my tastes. I'm not opposed to vulgarity, and I presume there is textual evidence for the extremity of the original language. But if you're going to call Hera a "devious bitch," you should at least balance it with a few vulgar epithets for Zeus. Maybe "almighty Zeus, known fucker of swans" or "Zeus, the shitbag of the skies" or "Zeus, the catty, drama-king of the clouds." He's the damn worst, and it's hard to watch him get a pass when every woman or goddess is called a bitch at one point or another. Take some liberties, man.
#2 - Richard Lattimore (hardback)
An exceptional, visceral translation and (others tell me) perhaps the most faithful of this quartet. No complaints about this one. None.
#1 - Robert Fagles (digital copy)
Again, the Lattimore is beautiful. My preference for the Fagles--a translation into poetry like all here save the Rieu--is little more than than: a preference. His translation gripped me and didn't let go, as I deliberately read Books XXII-XXIV in this translation to finish. My preference may be as simple as the transliterated names. Give me Achilles and Ajax (Fagles) and not Achilleus and Aias (Lattimore). Both of these versions bring this poem to vibrant and often horrifically gory life, and I'd be happy to reread either.
But yeah. Gimme Fagles.
As for the Iliad itself, I don't have much to add that hasn't been said better elsewhere--at least not yet--but I'll leave you with this final exhortation, in case you are a waffling potential reader. It's really written to a bygone Gardner who wasted 30 years not reading the Rieu copy he bought during undergrad:
Hell yes you should read the Iliad, jackass. The hell? You think this is about your preferences? You think maybe you won't like it? "Ew it's all like fighting and dumb old stuff and the style and..." It doesn't matter if you like it. That's not the point, dummy. If's f'n ART. Like, people fought and scratched for years to make sure this work carried on throughout the ages ART. Nothing shitty lasts this long. Nothing. Read the damn book, clown.
This was (to my discredit) my first spin through the full text, and I split it between four translations, ranked below with light commentary:
#4 - E. V. Rieu (paperback)
Serviceable. This prose translation was easily the most "readable" of the versions, but that's in part because there were fewer sparks of brilliance to slow me down. It's hard to render a boring version of Homer--it's just too good to ruin--but this one felt flattest to me, the most like reading something assigned to me. Nota bene: this ranking may be entirely about my preference for poetic translations.
#3 - Stephen Mitchell (audio)
The language is far punchier here, and this adaptation is read more than ably by Alfred Molina. Mitchell is a bit too fond of the word "bitch" for my tastes. I'm not opposed to vulgarity, and I presume there is textual evidence for the extremity of the original language. But if you're going to call Hera a "devious bitch," you should at least balance it with a few vulgar epithets for Zeus. Maybe "almighty Zeus, known fucker of swans" or "Zeus, the shitbag of the skies" or "Zeus, the catty, drama-king of the clouds." He's the damn worst, and it's hard to watch him get a pass when every woman or goddess is called a bitch at one point or another. Take some liberties, man.
#2 - Richard Lattimore (hardback)
An exceptional, visceral translation and (others tell me) perhaps the most faithful of this quartet. No complaints about this one. None.
#1 - Robert Fagles (digital copy)
Again, the Lattimore is beautiful. My preference for the Fagles--a translation into poetry like all here save the Rieu--is little more than than: a preference. His translation gripped me and didn't let go, as I deliberately read Books XXII-XXIV in this translation to finish. My preference may be as simple as the transliterated names. Give me Achilles and Ajax (Fagles) and not Achilleus and Aias (Lattimore). Both of these versions bring this poem to vibrant and often horrifically gory life, and I'd be happy to reread either.
But yeah. Gimme Fagles.
As for the Iliad itself, I don't have much to add that hasn't been said better elsewhere--at least not yet--but I'll leave you with this final exhortation, in case you are a waffling potential reader. It's really written to a bygone Gardner who wasted 30 years not reading the Rieu copy he bought during undergrad:
Hell yes you should read the Iliad, jackass. The hell? You think this is about your preferences? You think maybe you won't like it? "Ew it's all like fighting and dumb old stuff and the style and..." It doesn't matter if you like it. That's not the point, dummy. If's f'n ART. Like, people fought and scratched for years to make sure this work carried on throughout the ages ART. Nothing shitty lasts this long. Nothing. Read the damn book, clown.