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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
This is a book I wish I had picked up before I began reading the some of the ancient works as it provides a comprehensive collection of the great myths of primarily Greek and Roman mythology. Written well before the internet age and compiled from the writings of Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides, Ovid, Virgil and many others, Edith Hamilton provides a great summary of many of the greatest myths. If you're looking for a solid introduction or a comprehensive overview, I recommend picking this up.
An excellent history of, as far as I can tell, all the Greek and Roman myths and stories. Also a smidge of Norse mythology.
I did not expect the author to be quite so opinionated. She had very definite ideas about which authors were too dry, which were overly dramatic, etc. Also, she really preferred Theseus over Hercules, who was apparently a himbo. The number of times she reiterated that Hercules was dumb was frankly funny.
It really felt like she ran out of steam at the end. There were a bunch of myths that were only a paragraph or two long that felt like afterthoughts. And speaking of afterthoughts, all of Norse mythology only getting a few pages? That seems like short shrift.
It really felt like she ran out of steam at the end. There were a bunch of myths that were only a paragraph or two long that felt like afterthoughts. And speaking of afterthoughts, all of Norse mythology only getting a few pages? That seems like short shrift.
informative
medium-paced
Great for overviewing. Though some chunks of the book are written in a very convoluted manner for some reason, almost like the author got bored of telling the story straightforwardly.
This was a bit of a disappointment, but that's down partly to my expectations & what I personally would consider a success for a book like this. I will say that is partly owed to this book being pitched as offering great storytelling, and it really doesn't hit the mark in that regard. So I'll assign part of the blame to that, too.
This book has a bit of a weird mix of minor scholarship and basic storytelling that kind of provides a little traditional context for people who are interested in these myths. But if you want to delve into the scholarship as a serious undertaking, you wouldn't rely on this book. And if you just want to enjoy these stories, as I did, you'll likely find the representations within this book fall short of your memories of the stories.
Also, I sort of get why the Norse myths are briefly touched upon in this book, but really, ~20 pages of coverage do them no justice. I would have preferred they just weren't included at all.
All in all, honestly, I would just skip this. Look for better versions of these stories and enjoy those. This may once have been a great read for people interested in myth, but I don't think it holds up.
This book has a bit of a weird mix of minor scholarship and basic storytelling that kind of provides a little traditional context for people who are interested in these myths. But if you want to delve into the scholarship as a serious undertaking, you wouldn't rely on this book. And if you just want to enjoy these stories, as I did, you'll likely find the representations within this book fall short of your memories of the stories.
Also, I sort of get why the Norse myths are briefly touched upon in this book, but really, ~20 pages of coverage do them no justice. I would have preferred they just weren't included at all.
All in all, honestly, I would just skip this. Look for better versions of these stories and enjoy those. This may once have been a great read for people interested in myth, but I don't think it holds up.
Re-read for the first time since high school English class.
Dip in dip out book. Will return in future