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A review by theronkelso
Homer's the Iliad and the Odyssey: A Biography by Alberto Manguel
3.0
This was one of those books that I read because of the author rather than the topic. [Book:Homer’s the Iliad and the Odyssey: A Biography|1579091] by [Author:Alberto Manguel] (here and here), is the third book that I have read by Manguel. Previously, reading [Book:A Reading Diary: A Passionate Reader’s Reflections on a Year of Books|53079] and [Book:A History of Reading|53085], both I really enjoyed.
The last time I read the Odyssey was around 1990 while I was taking an Ancient History course at the University of Arizona. My now forgotten Professor was the entertainment rather than the books that we supposedly read and learned. However, since reading Manguel’s book, I am somewhat interested in pick up the Robert Fagles translations.
Manguel covers everything you might expect in a biography of a book – it’s creation, context and impact. Homer (the person or collective) wrote these poems about 2,800 years ago about events (the Trojan War and [Book:Ulysses] about the long journey home to Ithaca) that supposedly took place four hundred years before his time. Since the writing, there have been many other works that have included fragments of these stories, or entire passages – each paying tribute to Homer and his living stories.
The last time I read the Odyssey was around 1990 while I was taking an Ancient History course at the University of Arizona. My now forgotten Professor was the entertainment rather than the books that we supposedly read and learned. However, since reading Manguel’s book, I am somewhat interested in pick up the Robert Fagles translations.
Manguel covers everything you might expect in a biography of a book – it’s creation, context and impact. Homer (the person or collective) wrote these poems about 2,800 years ago about events (the Trojan War and [Book:Ulysses] about the long journey home to Ithaca) that supposedly took place four hundred years before his time. Since the writing, there have been many other works that have included fragments of these stories, or entire passages – each paying tribute to Homer and his living stories.