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esorharas 's review for:
The Odyssey
by Homer
This book was incredibly boring, and on a personal enjoyment level, I would have rated it one star. However, because of the historical significance, the historian in me recognises the value of this book and the influence it has had.
I might post a longer review at some point, going into the details of why, as a work of fiction, this book is so awful. But for now I will leave a few points here -
1. Sexism - women are expected to stay at home and weep. They are subservient to men, have to do what they say, and get punished for not doing. Penelope stays at home for twenty years and cries for her absent husband, yet he gets to swan around the place sleeping with every pretty woman he sees.
2. Pacing - a massive chunk at the start is just discussing Telemachus and Penelope's situation and what they are going to do about it. Telemachus goes on a pointless quest to find out what happens to his father, and doesn't get much in the way of answers, and then is called back towards the end. Odysseus gets back to Ithaca about two thirds of the way through, so you then have to read endless pages of his quest to defeat the suitors when he gets home. It's just so slow and so incredibly boring.
3. The writing - if I ever see the phrase 'fresh and rosy-fingered' again, it will be too soon. I hated the constant long introductions of people. I hated the way it was written. It didn't add to my enjoyment at all. Too much time is spent on discussing people's habits, when they sleep and wake, how they wash, what they wear, what they do to wash their clothes, what they eat, what gifts they give to visitors. It's just endless waffle. I do appreciate the historical significance of this work, as it gives valuable insight into the lives of noble people who lived at this time, but still.
4. The characters - Odysseus was a cheating, lying, impatient wimp for the majority of the book. He spends years on some island with whoever it was - Calypso? Circe? And what does he do? Sits on the beach and cries. He instigates the fight against the cyclops, and causes the death of his crew members. He starts name calling the cyclops after he gets away, causing Poseidon to send his wrath against Odysseus. If he wasn't such an idiot, the whole long-ass journey would have been much shorter! Everyone else was not even worth mentioning. I hated them all.
5. The Plot - it was dull. There are too many stories within stories. I skim read the constant sitting down to tell YET ANOTHER STORY towards the end as I'd had enough. I just didn't care about what other lie Odysseus was going to tell another member of his family. As I mentioned, the entire journey to get back to Ithaca would have been shorter if Odysseus had been sensible and not gone against the cyclops. The end dragged and dragged and dragged on. The constant introductions, the fact that they expected lavish gifts when they so much as deigned to step foot on someone else's soil. IT WAS BORING!
I will never read this again. NEVER. I may read a re-telling. I have Circe by Madeline Miller on my TBR, which I'm looking forward to, and I've read Song of Achilles by the same author, which is good. There are tons of other stories going back to ancient Greece, and told by a modern author, they come across as much more enjoyable to read. I just did not gel with the style of writing or the pacing of this one.
I may attempt The Iliad at some point just because. But after that, I will be done with Homer. For good.
I might post a longer review at some point, going into the details of why, as a work of fiction, this book is so awful. But for now I will leave a few points here -
1. Sexism - women are expected to stay at home and weep. They are subservient to men, have to do what they say, and get punished for not doing. Penelope stays at home for twenty years and cries for her absent husband, yet he gets to swan around the place sleeping with every pretty woman he sees.
2. Pacing - a massive chunk at the start is just discussing Telemachus and Penelope's situation and what they are going to do about it. Telemachus goes on a pointless quest to find out what happens to his father, and doesn't get much in the way of answers, and then is called back towards the end. Odysseus gets back to Ithaca about two thirds of the way through, so you then have to read endless pages of his quest to defeat the suitors when he gets home. It's just so slow and so incredibly boring.
3. The writing - if I ever see the phrase 'fresh and rosy-fingered' again, it will be too soon. I hated the constant long introductions of people. I hated the way it was written. It didn't add to my enjoyment at all. Too much time is spent on discussing people's habits, when they sleep and wake, how they wash, what they wear, what they do to wash their clothes, what they eat, what gifts they give to visitors. It's just endless waffle. I do appreciate the historical significance of this work, as it gives valuable insight into the lives of noble people who lived at this time, but still.
4. The characters - Odysseus was a cheating, lying, impatient wimp for the majority of the book. He spends years on some island with whoever it was - Calypso? Circe? And what does he do? Sits on the beach and cries. He instigates the fight against the cyclops, and causes the death of his crew members. He starts name calling the cyclops after he gets away, causing Poseidon to send his wrath against Odysseus. If he wasn't such an idiot, the whole long-ass journey would have been much shorter! Everyone else was not even worth mentioning. I hated them all.
5. The Plot - it was dull. There are too many stories within stories. I skim read the constant sitting down to tell YET ANOTHER STORY towards the end as I'd had enough. I just didn't care about what other lie Odysseus was going to tell another member of his family. As I mentioned, the entire journey to get back to Ithaca would have been shorter if Odysseus had been sensible and not gone against the cyclops. The end dragged and dragged and dragged on. The constant introductions, the fact that they expected lavish gifts when they so much as deigned to step foot on someone else's soil. IT WAS BORING!
I will never read this again. NEVER. I may read a re-telling. I have Circe by Madeline Miller on my TBR, which I'm looking forward to, and I've read Song of Achilles by the same author, which is good. There are tons of other stories going back to ancient Greece, and told by a modern author, they come across as much more enjoyable to read. I just did not gel with the style of writing or the pacing of this one.
I may attempt The Iliad at some point just because. But after that, I will be done with Homer. For good.