Alike to ‘The Iliad’, my reading of ‘The Odyssey’ was a reread in a different translation, this time in Fagles’ rather than Emily Wilson’s. I was a little harsh on ‘The Odyssey’ the first time I read it, and now with a greater understanding of mythology I can much further appreciate it. I also believe this translation was better than Wilson’s. It was much more poetic and less blunt, not americanised either in the way Lombardo’s ‘Iliad’ felt. I did forget quite how little of the epic actually focused on the journey Odysseus takes home, it only really occupying about a third of the epic with Telemachus opening it and a very dragged out return to Ithaca as Odysseus repeatedly witnesses the suitors plotting to kill his son, gets stuff tossed at him as he frames himself as a beggar, and retells the same fabricated tale of his identity. It isn’t as grand feeling as ‘The Iliad’ in its plot and the repetition of the latter half meant it was also far less engaging, my original thoughts about Odysseus getting away with so much as he was Athena’s favourite continued to be an annoying element too. Nonetheless it was an improved experience versus when I first read the ‘The Odyssey’ 

 

(As the most recent review is prioritised on the page I have copied my original review of Wilson’s translation from September 2022 below): 

2.25 ⭐️

The Odyssey is the first book I have had to read for my university course. It can be commended as it's one of the baselines in the history of literature, and the classic Greek tale of adventure has been built upon and explored by so many writers. The plot is alright, it's just the means in which the epic is written that I did not enjoy. I acknowledge that The Odyssey has been translated many a time throughout history, whereas now it reads like a list of events just stated to you. There is no tension as the hero Odysseus has no character flaws and he has the 'Gods on his side' and as a result cannot fail Further, the amount of times it is mentioned a character is 'son of ____" the father meaning absolutely nothing to the reader and playing no role in the story is painful, there was no character development and as a result, though highly significant, I found the book ultimately dull.