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A review by cameronicohen
Iliad by Alessandro Baricco
4.0
Right from the start, the book captured my attention. It was told from the perspective of a woman captured from Thebes, Chryseis, who at first seemed but another minor character. While true, the fight regarding her almost lost the war for the Achaeans. This chapter, told from the perspective of an observer, was one of my favorites. It allowed the reader to see how others viewed main characters such as Agamemnon and Achilles.
Other chapters allowed the reader to view the minds of the main characters. A particularly riveting one was that told from the perspective of the River, a favorite among others who read this book. The River’s ideas and thoughts about war were refreshing to hear after long battle sequences. Some chapters, however, failed to live up to these standards. Many chapters sounded the same and dragged on, despite the change of first person. The battles were descriptive but did not grab at me the way other books have. To me, it seemed more like a list of who had killed whom.
However, my favorite chapter was the last one, told from the perspective of a harp minstrel. The book jumps ahead in the future, to after the war, where Odysseus has landed shipwrecked on the Phaeacian’s island. In their great hall, a harp minstrel sings of the Fall of Troy. As Odysseus cries in the background, the King asks for the stranger’s name. In response, Odysseus declares, “I am Odysseus. I come from Ithaca, and there, one day, I will return.” For those of us who have read the Odyssey, this chapter was very exciting. I had read this exact passage, told from Odysseus’s view and the entire song is skipped. Hearing the reason behind Odysseus’s suffering allowed me a new perspective.
Some reviewers complained that the language in Baricco’s version does not match that of Homer’s original. I believe what they misunderstand is that an Iliad was not supposed to be a copy of the Iliad. Baricco simply shortens the Iliad into a version, which gives a nice overview of the original.
Overall, this book inspired me to look at the Odyssey and life in new ways. A good read I would easily recommend to others.
Other chapters allowed the reader to view the minds of the main characters. A particularly riveting one was that told from the perspective of the River, a favorite among others who read this book. The River’s ideas and thoughts about war were refreshing to hear after long battle sequences. Some chapters, however, failed to live up to these standards. Many chapters sounded the same and dragged on, despite the change of first person. The battles were descriptive but did not grab at me the way other books have. To me, it seemed more like a list of who had killed whom.
However, my favorite chapter was the last one, told from the perspective of a harp minstrel. The book jumps ahead in the future, to after the war, where Odysseus has landed shipwrecked on the Phaeacian’s island. In their great hall, a harp minstrel sings of the Fall of Troy. As Odysseus cries in the background, the King asks for the stranger’s name. In response, Odysseus declares, “I am Odysseus. I come from Ithaca, and there, one day, I will return.” For those of us who have read the Odyssey, this chapter was very exciting. I had read this exact passage, told from Odysseus’s view and the entire song is skipped. Hearing the reason behind Odysseus’s suffering allowed me a new perspective.
Some reviewers complained that the language in Baricco’s version does not match that of Homer’s original. I believe what they misunderstand is that an Iliad was not supposed to be a copy of the Iliad. Baricco simply shortens the Iliad into a version, which gives a nice overview of the original.
Overall, this book inspired me to look at the Odyssey and life in new ways. A good read I would easily recommend to others.