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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Had to read this for class so it was a bit rushed/hastily read but pretty epic. I think if I read this in my own time with my own pacing I would've liked it more, but then again I would've been confused or lost with a lot of this. The curse of a Liberal Arts major
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Siste halvdel var syyykt mye bedre enn hva nå enn første halvdel var... Skjønner hypen liksom, men vil nok ikke lese den igjen
adventurous
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
medium-paced
5 stars specifically for this translation... less stars if I was reviewing the story itself. Emily Wilson, the first woman to translate the Odyssey into English, is supremely talented and created a very approachable translation; even her translator's note at the beginning was super entertaining and enlightening!
Now, obviously it's The Odyssey and is truly an epic tale that was originally performed rather than read, and it's worthy of fame and respect. But just for fun if I was to review this as a modern novel, I think I'd have to give it 2.5 stars. Odysseus is not a worthy hero but rather an aggressive, arrogant brute who is lucky to have assistance from gods. All of the cool things about the story (like the sirens or Scylla) are told sort of passively; a lot of the emphasis is on the scenes of just a bunch of guys talking and eating dinner. Talking about those cool things sometimes, sure, but the book is mostly made up of a lot of "these guys wanted to go home really badly and wept," and "here's a list of names and how they all know each other and who their dads are." As an aside, I never want to see the phrase "The rosy fingers of dawn approached" or any of those variants again. When the last chapter finally came, I could not believe my eyes when the spirits are randomly just summarizing the events AGAIN.
Now, obviously it's The Odyssey and is truly an epic tale that was originally performed rather than read, and it's worthy of fame and respect. But just for fun if I was to review this as a modern novel, I think I'd have to give it 2.5 stars. Odysseus is not a worthy hero but rather an aggressive, arrogant brute who is lucky to have assistance from gods. All of the cool things about the story (like the sirens or Scylla) are told sort of passively; a lot of the emphasis is on the scenes of just a bunch of guys talking and eating dinner. Talking about those cool things sometimes, sure, but the book is mostly made up of a lot of "these guys wanted to go home really badly and wept," and "here's a list of names and how they all know each other and who their dads are." As an aside, I never want to see the phrase "The rosy fingers of dawn approached" or any of those variants again. When the last chapter finally came, I could not believe my eyes when the spirits are randomly just summarizing the events AGAIN.