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A review by cassiakarin
The Odyssey by Homer
5.0
*Fiction of the Year*
Epic. It is! It truly is. It defines the word. This book was marvelous. I enjoyed it very thoroughly, and I believe this book is very much needed in our modern society today (as most classics are, I suppose). I did not read a poetic translation for my first, but hope to find one and enter into it.
This book is fun exciting, deep, and enlightening. This review will be slightly longer than the rest since it was my favorite of the year. I would like to share some of the core virtues that I gained from it, virtues that I hope will widen my categories for love and eudaemonia, the flourishing life:
Hospitality: strongest in family and between loyal friends, but uniquely lavishly to the stranger or traveler. This is a deeply biblical concept as well, which made it fun to see it played out in this story.
Fealty: fealty is a much stronger category for me now than ever before. I see how it is a lifeline for happiness, and how it cannot be dichotomized in different areas of life or relationship. A person is faithful in all or not at all.
Masculinity: Oh man! Ulysses is the man! Masculinity in this book is demonstrated with physical strength, mental stamina, wisdom, deep emotion, powerful longing, sturdy conviction, keen perception, and faithfulness to the gods. Ulysses weeps a lot, equally for joy and sorrow, or for fatigue and relief.
Femininity: Strength, endurance, faithfulness, hope, courage, emotion, and love. I love Penelope, but I can’t get over Eurycleia when she enters the hall where Ulysses has made his revenge. The book says that Ulysses was covered in blood, bodies piled all around, and his shirt was torn. Eurycleia screamed, and would go on *laughing* if Ulysses had not stopped her, for she knew that “a great deed had been done.” There is a wise woman. One with a strong understanding of justice, and righteousness and can laugh when it is done.
Other categories that I will not go into here, but found great value in exploring were: sonship, faith, honor, poverty, and cunning.
Audible note: If you listen to the book as I did, I recommend using the YouTube channel “Course Hero” to track with the story. They put on a 3-4 minute recap of each book (chapter). This was helpful as I was learning the names of the characters, especially since they switch between their Greek and Latin names so often.
I also used Os Guinness’s book “Introduction to the Classics” which has a great three-page-guide on the book.
Also, I often wanted to open my hard copy version of the book to re-read some favorite parts with my eyes, but I had a different translation hardcopy than I did audio, and the translations were SO different! In some places I preferred the audio, in others the type. I have the Harvard “5-foot-shelf” book collection version in hard copy, but can’t figure out who translated the audio version.
Recommended by: “10 Masterpieces You Must Read Before You Die”
Epic. It is! It truly is. It defines the word. This book was marvelous. I enjoyed it very thoroughly, and I believe this book is very much needed in our modern society today (as most classics are, I suppose). I did not read a poetic translation for my first, but hope to find one and enter into it.
This book is fun exciting, deep, and enlightening. This review will be slightly longer than the rest since it was my favorite of the year. I would like to share some of the core virtues that I gained from it, virtues that I hope will widen my categories for love and eudaemonia, the flourishing life:
Hospitality: strongest in family and between loyal friends, but uniquely lavishly to the stranger or traveler. This is a deeply biblical concept as well, which made it fun to see it played out in this story.
Fealty: fealty is a much stronger category for me now than ever before. I see how it is a lifeline for happiness, and how it cannot be dichotomized in different areas of life or relationship. A person is faithful in all or not at all.
Masculinity: Oh man! Ulysses is the man! Masculinity in this book is demonstrated with physical strength, mental stamina, wisdom, deep emotion, powerful longing, sturdy conviction, keen perception, and faithfulness to the gods. Ulysses weeps a lot, equally for joy and sorrow, or for fatigue and relief.
Femininity: Strength, endurance, faithfulness, hope, courage, emotion, and love. I love Penelope, but I can’t get over Eurycleia when she enters the hall where Ulysses has made his revenge. The book says that Ulysses was covered in blood, bodies piled all around, and his shirt was torn. Eurycleia screamed, and would go on *laughing* if Ulysses had not stopped her, for she knew that “a great deed had been done.” There is a wise woman. One with a strong understanding of justice, and righteousness and can laugh when it is done.
Other categories that I will not go into here, but found great value in exploring were: sonship, faith, honor, poverty, and cunning.
Audible note: If you listen to the book as I did, I recommend using the YouTube channel “Course Hero” to track with the story. They put on a 3-4 minute recap of each book (chapter). This was helpful as I was learning the names of the characters, especially since they switch between their Greek and Latin names so often.
I also used Os Guinness’s book “Introduction to the Classics” which has a great three-page-guide on the book.
Also, I often wanted to open my hard copy version of the book to re-read some favorite parts with my eyes, but I had a different translation hardcopy than I did audio, and the translations were SO different! In some places I preferred the audio, in others the type. I have the Harvard “5-foot-shelf” book collection version in hard copy, but can’t figure out who translated the audio version.
Recommended by: “10 Masterpieces You Must Read Before You Die”