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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Controversially for me I have not read The Iliad before, which I'm pretty mad about because it freaking rocks, so I can't really comment on the nature of this translation by Graves.
This is honestly so good. For a story that is mostly concerned with battles and fighting, which usually bores me, it is so engaging. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. I'll have to read a more traditional translation soon.
I was mainly surprised at how complex and real the emotions and actions of the characters were, as I've read books and stories that are newer than this by hundreds of years that obviously showed their age in the attitudes and ideas displayed about warfare and companionship. Maybe it has something to do with a lack of Christianisation in this period (given that it was composed some 8 centuries before the birth of Christ). It's interesting how religions and beliefs can change so much over time yet their media can still stay so fresh to contemporary society.
I think a large part of my enjoyment of this was down to the knowledge I have of Alexander the Great seeing himself as Achilles and being a massive fan of The Iliad. It provided me with more incentive and extra dimension to my understanding of him as a person.
This is honestly so good. For a story that is mostly concerned with battles and fighting, which usually bores me, it is so engaging. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. I'll have to read a more traditional translation soon.
I was mainly surprised at how complex and real the emotions and actions of the characters were, as I've read books and stories that are newer than this by hundreds of years that obviously showed their age in the attitudes and ideas displayed about warfare and companionship. Maybe it has something to do with a lack of Christianisation in this period (given that it was composed some 8 centuries before the birth of Christ). It's interesting how religions and beliefs can change so much over time yet their media can still stay so fresh to contemporary society.
I think a large part of my enjoyment of this was down to the knowledge I have of Alexander the Great seeing himself as Achilles and being a massive fan of The Iliad. It provided me with more incentive and extra dimension to my understanding of him as a person.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
informative
reflective
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
An entertaining but also ridiculous story. At times can be a chore especially when mentioning characters ancestry and there’s a lot of descriptions of random people being killed and their lineage. The use of poetry mixed with the prose is well done and adds to the story. Overall it’s entertaining and could almost be read as a satire
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
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:
Complicated
The story is obviously full of plotwists, battles and killings. It's also full of misogyny and male characters who always think they're the best and dare to fight the gods, but that is expected of the times and makes it for unintentionally funny exchanges and mishappenings. As someone who loves mithology and to read and learn about it in a critical way, I really enjoyed it reading it by myself, having time to understand all the nits and grits of the plot, after having only read some parts in the years of my school days. Honestly, this translation is not the best in terms of accuracy and rendering of rhetorical devices, but the prose sometimes makes it easier to understand the plot. I'd suggest to read other translations of the Iliad as well to get a better view on the language used, each time focusing on different aspects.
I do love Graves' translation of the Iliad. He has rendered the work into eminently readable prose, with pieces of poetry where appropriate (although his obsession with rhyming these stanzas makes them a little bit doggerel). His experiences in the first world war give him a unique perspective on leadership which he uses deftly to paint Agamemnon and Hector as deeply flawed generals. These are not good leaders; they are simply the leaders that the men must learn to work with. Other heroes stand up to them, coerce and cajole to get their own way or otherwise benefit the fighting men. Diomedes, Sarpedon, Ajax, and Aeneas are shown as kinder princes, while people like Odysseus and Achilles exemplify that particular kind of self-centred 'hero' who barely notices the horrors he causes by his actions (or inactions). If you're put off by verse translations of the Iliad, Graves' delightful prose version is a good option.
adventurous
informative
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
sad
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:
Complicated
I like the text when read aloud more than when just read to myself.
I can't really put into words how much I like this book and why; I have tried and failed many times already; I am going to c&p a bit I wrote elsewhere just so I HAVE IT HERE for the record. maybe I will find better words later.
I think the way you react to this book has a lot to do with what you think the book is about -- war? glory? heroism? for me it was all these things, but more than these a story of love and grief, a fatalistic story about the impotence of humankind. and yet it is also a story that is strangely hopeful -- one that celebrates the human condition.
at its heart, the iliad is really a story about human tragedy, told about a man who disdains his own humanity, who through sheer force of will escalates himself to the semi-divine, and who is brought low by the greatest personal tragedy he could possibly endure... all so he can learn to recognize in himself: mere humanity. (not mortality, not grace, not humility or mercy or kindness: just humanity, that pathetic and noble condition he shares in common with everyone who has ever lived and who ever will live.)
the sheer scale of that story, of the emotional power in that, is just overwhelming to me; it overwhelms me every time I think about it. I don't think I have ever read a story with this kind of emotional power behind it; if you have, please tell me so I can go and have another semi-religious experience, I would love that.
this is just. it is just the best book ever. please give it a try; I hope you get out of it what I did, because I got something really marvelous out of it.
I think the way you react to this book has a lot to do with what you think the book is about -- war? glory? heroism? for me it was all these things, but more than these a story of love and grief, a fatalistic story about the impotence of humankind. and yet it is also a story that is strangely hopeful -- one that celebrates the human condition.
at its heart, the iliad is really a story about human tragedy, told about a man who disdains his own humanity, who through sheer force of will escalates himself to the semi-divine, and who is brought low by the greatest personal tragedy he could possibly endure... all so he can learn to recognize in himself: mere humanity. (not mortality, not grace, not humility or mercy or kindness: just humanity, that pathetic and noble condition he shares in common with everyone who has ever lived and who ever will live.)
the sheer scale of that story, of the emotional power in that, is just overwhelming to me; it overwhelms me every time I think about it. I don't think I have ever read a story with this kind of emotional power behind it; if you have, please tell me so I can go and have another semi-religious experience, I would love that.
this is just. it is just the best book ever. please give it a try; I hope you get out of it what I did, because I got something really marvelous out of it.