7.17k reviews for:

Odyssee

Homer

3.71 AVERAGE

adventurous inspiring medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
adventurous challenging emotional slow-paced
adventurous challenging slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous funny lighthearted 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
adventurous informative slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix

I didn’t think it was possible to fall in love with Greek mythology any further, but reading Wilson’s translation of a beloved canonical text re-animated my love of the classics, something I started withdrawing from as it was so male-centric in voice and content. 

Can’t understate how much I absolutely adored the introduction and how critical it was in my enjoyment of the translation! One could say it felt as if Athena herself read with me over my shoulder. 
adventurous challenging dark hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

3.5 stars ✨ 

I was worried going into this one with how old it was, but Emily Wilson translated it brilliantly. The language was digestible and approachable. I found the beginning of the story to be a little slow paced and the writing too lyrical to follow the plot, but luckily with it being a classic, I could look up chapter summaries if I was ever confused, and I only had to do it a handful of times. Despite being stagnant at times, it was immersive and engaging, and now I’m intrigued to pick up Emily Wilson’s other translations. 
adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Minus half a point because a few of the translation choices towards the end were questionable. As in, I questioned them but I’m not a scholar of Homer or Ancient Greek so what do I know!