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A review by tristansreadingmania
The Odyssey by Homer
4.0
Like a bolt of lightning striking a tree, [b:The Iliad of Homer|11054461|The Iliad of Homer|Homer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344674047s/11054461.jpg|3293141] set my cranium alight when its sheer incantatory power first washed over me. It's an astonishing work, brutal and violent, while at the same time deeply affecting, brimming with incisive insights into human nature.
Odysseus and crew, having taken precautions to not be lured by the Sirens' song, sail past them.
Homer's subsequent epic poem I was less enraptured by because of its lack of focus, even though it is unquestionable that it represents a high-water mark in the Western canon; its qualities as a narrative - and influence - can't be overstated. Similar to Odysseus, I was fervently hoping for a homecoming of some kind ( in my case back in the hands of the master poet ) but the return gave credence to the age-old adage that you truly never can come home again. That first, visceral contact spoiled me, proved to be much too potent for [b:The Odyssey|1383|The Odyssey |Homer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425062193s/1383.jpg|3356006] ever to be able to compete with.
Odysseus reveals himself and deals with the suitors.
Do I love it? No, but I coldly admire it from a distance, and as such hold it in great respect. More than likely I'll never get to a point of "intimacy" with it, in a manner of speaking.
Expansive reviews of this and [b:The Iliad of Homer|11054461|The Iliad of Homer|Homer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344674047s/11054461.jpg|3293141] will probably follow in the future, when I decide on re-reading them, probably in different translations from the Richmond Lattimore one (which I highly recommend, especially for the latter).
Odysseus and crew, having taken precautions to not be lured by the Sirens' song, sail past them.
Homer's subsequent epic poem I was less enraptured by because of its lack of focus, even though it is unquestionable that it represents a high-water mark in the Western canon; its qualities as a narrative - and influence - can't be overstated. Similar to Odysseus, I was fervently hoping for a homecoming of some kind ( in my case back in the hands of the master poet ) but the return gave credence to the age-old adage that you truly never can come home again. That first, visceral contact spoiled me, proved to be much too potent for [b:The Odyssey|1383|The Odyssey |Homer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1425062193s/1383.jpg|3356006] ever to be able to compete with.
Odysseus reveals himself and deals with the suitors.
Do I love it? No, but I coldly admire it from a distance, and as such hold it in great respect. More than likely I'll never get to a point of "intimacy" with it, in a manner of speaking.
Expansive reviews of this and [b:The Iliad of Homer|11054461|The Iliad of Homer|Homer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1344674047s/11054461.jpg|3293141] will probably follow in the future, when I decide on re-reading them, probably in different translations from the Richmond Lattimore one (which I highly recommend, especially for the latter).