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Title details for The Odyssey by Homer - Wait list

The Odyssey

The Fitzgerald Translation

by Homer
D. S. Carne-Ross
Audiobook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 8 weeks
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0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 8 weeks

"In classical Greece men called rhapsodes memorized and recited "The Iliad" and "The Odyssey." My own rhapsode is the English actor Dan Stevens, whom fans of "Downton Abbey" will know as Matthew Crawley. He's been performing the Robert Fitzgerald translation, and no Hellene could do it better." — Wall Street Journal
Robert Fitzgerald's translation of The Odyssey has been the standard translation for more than three generations of students and poets. Macmillan Audio is delighted to publish the first ever audio edition of this classic work, the greatest of all epic poems. Fitzgerald's supple verse is ideally suited for audio, recounting the story of Odysseus' long journey back to his wife and home after the Trojan War. Homer's tale of love, adventure, food and drink, sensual pleasure, and mortal danger reaches the English-language listener in all its glory.
In keeping with the oral tradition of the time, Dan Stevens, whose many celebrated performances include Downton Abbey's Matthew Crawley, makes this epic tale come alive. The listener becomes totally immersed in the adventure and drama of the story – this is the way The Odyssey was meant to be experienced.
Also included on the program is a portion of the poem read in ancient Greek so that listeners may experience the lyricism and music of the original language.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    September 16, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781427229434
      • File size: 295391 KB
      • Duration: 10:15:23

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • Lexile® Measure: 830
    • Text Difficulty: 4-5

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 27, 2014
      British actor Stevens of Downton Abbey fame brings Homer’s epic poem to life with this well-executed reading of the classic tale of the Greek hero Odysseus and his 10-year journey home. When Odysseus is presumed dead after the Trojan War, his wife, Penelope, is awash with suitors looking to court her and in turn take over the land. While Penelope stalls the persistent suitors, her husband is cursed to wander the seas encountering all manner of mythical beings and even the gods, who all play their part in helping, or mostly hindering, the hero in his quest to find home. Stevens, with a cool, unmannered delivery, brings a modern vocal interpretation to his performance, making this ancient poem engaging to the modern ear and easy to listen to. With his relaxed reading, Stevens proves that this classic poem is definitely not some dry, dusty work of ancient history, but a vibrant exciting story that, like the best tales of adventure, works best when read aloud, as scholars contend it was intended. A Farrar, Straus and Giroux paperback.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      With his regal delivery and majestic sense of pacing, Dan Stevens is the ideal narrator for Homer's epic tale. The challenges that Odysseus encounters on his return home from war are as riveting as always--dangers and temptations and obstacles rear up without respite as his family awaits word of his safety. Stevens leaps into the text with apparent relish, enunciating Fitzgerald's fine and comprehensive translation with painstaking precision and infusing the story with life. While the performance is excellent and the text remains timeless, the recording is best appreciated in segments rather than long listening stretches. The grandiose style, while suited to the audio format, can become overwhelming after a while, not unlike Odysseus's journey did for the hero and his family. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Every library should own this wonderful translation of THE ODYSSEY. The introduction provides an overview of Greek verse and explains its rhythmic scheme. Rodney Merrill then launches into a performance that is as close as most listeners can get to hearing the poem in the original. Merrill's cadence is wonderful; he has a visceral understanding of how these lines are shaped for the ear, and he delivers them faithfully, with enthusiasm and love. He shifts tones occasionally to differentiate individual speakers but, for the most part, allows Homer's dominant voice to carry listeners on this mythic journey. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      Starred review from February 1, 2015

      Scholars and poets regard Fitzgerald's translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey as among the best published and are seen as great poems in English on their own. Now they are available as audiobooks, narrated by actor Dan Stevens. The Iliad places the listener amid the Trojans and Greeks as they engage in a give-and-take warfare before the walls of Troy. Achilles initially refuses to fight, as Agamemnon has taken a Trojan women Achilles claims as a prize. Athena, Hera, and Poseidon side with the Greeks, while Troy finds allies in Apollo and Aphrodite. Zeus oversees all, favoring one side, then the other. The Odyssey recounts the trek of the great warrior Odysseus from the sacked Troy back home to Ithaca. Gods, goddesses, mortals, and monsters conspire to derail the voyage. Both Zeus and Poseidon intervene, destroying Odysseus's ships and killing his crew. In Ithaca, many suitors court Odysseus's wife, Penelope, in hopes to marry the widow of the supposedly fallen hero. Stevens's (of Downton Abbey fame) superb narration brings both stories to vivid life, giving the listener a feel for what it was like to hear it recited back in ancient Greece. Both audiobooks include bonus tracks of portions of the poem recited the original Greek. VERDICT Among the best audiobooks of the year, this set is recommended to all listeners.--Stephen L. Hupp, West Virginia Univ. Parkersburg Lib.

      Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Years ago, when this reviewer was casting his own radio dramatization of THE ODYSSEY, he asked the classicists who were advising him how the narrator, who was to represent the voice of Homer, should sound. "Like the setting sun," they said cryptically. Your humble servant had no idea what they were talking about. Then. Now I know because Derek Jacobi does sound like the setting sun. And, in spite of some Briticisms that may jar American ears, Mandelbaum's translation wonderfully communicates the swift, simple, virile dignity of the original. The beauty, the drama--they come from the unhurried, masterful Jacobi. Isn't it fitting that the greatest living actor of the English-speaking world should spellbind listeners with the greatest yarn ever told? Y.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      That "man of twists and turns," the great Odysseus, is a fitting hero for modern contemplation. He is a powerful warrior, an adventurer, a man of honor and tenderness. He is a survivor. He is also a victim of fate, a trickster and a ruthless avenger. In Robert Fagles's masterful translation we have a fresh look at this old story. Fagles chose to preserve the iambic pentameter form which, as Ian McKellen presents it, is never singsong but always singing. The story dances quietly along, pulling the listener toward the inevitable cadence that concludes each book. It's a deeply satisfying experience to listen to McKellen's subtle, resonant voice weave the story. Cherish the images as the web of this great tale is woven before the eyes of the mind. L.R.S. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      The story of Odysseus's return from the Trojan War has been around for a very long time and is still read, sometimes under duress, in the original Greek or in translation to some modern language. It has lots of strange characters, lots of bloodshed, and a true superhero trying to get back home to a virtuous wife. What's not to like? John Lee reads Samuel Butler's translation very well. It's hard to maintain any suspense when Homer keeps telling you what's going to happen, but Lee fights the good fight. His pacing is excellent, improving on the momentum of the slowly developing story. His voice seems just right to recount the adventures of a man being led about by Zeus's daughter. R.E.K. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Homer's tale of the triumphant Odysseus and his long and treacherous journey home from war sets the stage for an epic audio experience. This abridgment concentrates on the highlights without removing the essential parts of the story. British actor Anton Lesser narrates with clarity and enthusiasm, demonstrating a mastery over Homer's poetic language. He inserts passion and vivacity into a strictly descriptive narrative that has little opportunity for vocal characterization. Lesser sometimes speaks a bit too quickly, hurrying the listener along, but he makes up for this with his strong voice and animated intonation. His grand, confident approach gives the listener an experience reminiscent of the oratory style of the ancient Greeks. T.D.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Urgent, poetically earthy, and extremely listenable, BBC Radio's full-cast dramatization of Odysseus's treacherous ten-year journey home to his wife and son is outstanding audio theater. Working from a specially commissioned adaptation by award-winning British poet Simon Armitage, the cast makes the gods sound all too human, the humans sound fully human, and the motivations of all the characters sound clear and credible. Poseidon, the god of the sea, seeks revenge for Odysseus's mutilation of his son, the Cyclops. Athena and her father, Zeus, play a high-stakes game with human pawns. And, as reflected in the soulful performances of Tim McInnerny and Amanda Redman, the returning soldier Odysseus and his wife miss each other terribly as he makes his way home from war. Presented as a fast-paced fantasy, the blind poet's tale remains an unsurpassed set piece of the Western World's age-old storytelling tradition. B.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2009 Audies Finalist (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      This is a listen for anyone who wants to hear an updated version of the classic work by Homer. It's also for fans of Claire Danes, who does a superb job narrating the much-praised translation by Emily Wilson. Danes brings a restrained but inviting enthusiasm to what could easily have been a dry, difficult reading. Wilson succeeds in staying true to Homer's story of the journey of Odysseus but without relying on language from a bygone era to convey a more authentic sense to the translation. Instead, with Danes's capable reading, this listen becomes an interesting history lesson, a literary exposition, and, perhaps most important of all, an engaging story that reveals why it has withstood the test of time. J.P.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      November 4, 1996
      Robert Fagles's 1990 translation of The Iliad was highly praised; here, he moves to The Odyssey. As in the previous work, he adroitly mixes contemporary language with the driving rhythms of the original. The first line reads: "Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns/ driven time and again off course once he had plundered/ the hallowed heights of Troy." Hellenic scholar Bernard Knox contributes extensive introductory commentary, providing both historical and literary perspective. Notes, a pronouncing glossary, genealogies, a bibliography and maps of Homer's world are included.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • Lexile® Measure:830
  • Text Difficulty:4-5

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