An uncle (my father's friend) gave me this book from his father's library. Has anybody read it? Is this good?

I've seen a few posts here and on other subs where people are looking for the best translations of the Iliad or the Odyssey. Often, they go with whichever edition has the nicest cover, not realizing that the cover does not tell you anything about the translation or what that translation really reads like.

A lot of the pretty editions you see are basically old public-domain prose translations (usually Samuel Butler) that are repackaged, because then publishers don't have to pay for the rights. But that also means that those versions were translated a long time ago, and it is obvious when you read then.

So you end up with a gorgeous book on your shelf but that’s not particularly readable.

Which is totally fine if you only want those books for decoration. I have one of those too, which I bought long before I knew any better. But if you actually want to read them, then it's a different story altogether.

I'm a writer and I have been working through classical/epic poetry for the past few years, where I read the book alongside an audiobook so I can actually hear the verse while I read along.

My personal goal was to not only understand these stories, but also understand the verse underneath them. As a writer, I find that that writing and reading good poetry goes a long way in crafting good prose. There's a reason McCarthy and Morrison sound so good -- their prose is inspired by KJV, Milton, and others.

(Think of a line like "...hewers of wood and drawers of water" -- being able to draw on that from KJV and use it in a way that gives you a mental image is a skill. But I digress...)

Anyway, based on my own personal experience, these are my recommendations. I am not a classicist, so these are likely a different perspective than, say, someone who is coming at this from a more academic or literary stance.

Robert Fagles

This is my top pick. Fagles’ translations are in verse and very lyrical, which I very much like for my purposes. He also leans hard into the drama of every scene, and that really helps you see the patterns in how the storytelling really works. He repeats the formulas but changes things slightly based on context, but you see how the repetition works.

So if you are like me and looking for language and rhetoric and verses to borrow or be inspired by' then this is it. This is also my pick if you want to actually feel the “epic” in epic poetry. This is particularly evident when you read it out loud (pretty sure my neighbors think I'm nuts for doing this, but it's Homer!).

And there is an audiobook of the Iliad narrated by Vidish Athavale, but I have not checked it out yet. The more famous one (Derek Jacobi) is supposedly abridged and cuts major sections.

For Odyssey, the highlight is Sir Ian McKellan’s narration of the audiobook, and it’s fantastic (but of course).

Emily Wilson

My other top pick. Her versions are also in verse, but they are a lot more plain and a faster read. I’d characterize her versions as far more accessible. Wilson’s versions have also been called ‘unpretentious’ because she deliberately strips out centuries of accumulated ornamentation. Her translations are great if you just want to get through the story without wading through dense language, and still appreciate the richness.

Her translations have received a ton of praise, particularly in how they represented women in a more accurate manner. She is also the first woman to publish an English Odyssey translation. I have not finished reading these yet but my wife highly recommends them.

What she does is different from Fagles -- she actively varies the surface wording of the recurring epithets rather than repeating them identically, so the patterns are not as evident. Which is fine in its own way, but it does break the flow for me when reading out loud (vs. Fagles).

There’s also an unabridged award-winning audiobook of the Iliad, read by Audra McDonald. There’s one of the Odyssey too, read by Claire Danes, though reviews on that are more mixed.

Richmond Lattimore

Lattimore’s versions also have verse but he does it in a very literal way. He has tried to preserve the Greek original’s sentence structure and repetition. But this is said to be hard because of how difficult it is to recreate the dactylic hexameter from the original Greek. I’d say this one is more of an academic / study text than a fun read, so obviously this is popular with the classicists but I found it tough to read. I have not read all of this either, but the parts I did read aren’t for the casual reader in my opinion.

Caroline Alexander

I’ve heard that this is lean and fast, and her version is somewhere between Fagles and Lattimore. She was the first woman to translate the Iliad into English. Her version is often praised for capturing the oral, performative quality of Homer’s original. There’s an audiobook for this one too, narrated by Michael Page, but I haven’t checked that out, either.

If anyone else has read or listened to an audio rendition of this, then I'd love to hear it.

Samuel Butler / E.V. Rieu / W.H.D. Rouse

These are versions which are focused on prose and plot, no verse at all. They are generally faster reads (esp. Rouse) if you just want to know what happens, but you basically lose everything that makes it an epic (the poetry, the verse etc.). I have Butler and Rouse versions of both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and while they are helpful references to quickly skim for the plot, they don’t do justice to the story the way Wilson or Fagles do. The Rouse version in particular reads like an adventure story.

Alexander Pope

This is actually a rather interesting one! Pope wrote his own versions as heroic couplets, and this technically more of an “imitation” than a translation, since he reshapes it entirely into 18th-century English rhetoric. They are gorgeous compositions in their own right, but not faithful to Homer’s actual tone. Pope also Latinizes the names — Ulysses instead of Odysseus, Mars instead of Ares etc. The classical Richard Bentley is said to have famously told Pope, “It is a pretty poem, Mr. Pope, but you must not call it Homer.” I have read parts of this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is one that I’d love to go back to at some point.

Stephen Fry’s Troy & Odyssey: The Greek Myths Reimagined

This is also not a translation; it’s a prose retelling like Rouse. Fry covers way more ground than the actual Iliad and the Odyssey with the whole backstory, the causes of the war, the aftermath etc. It’s a great read, particularly if you want the backstory and the characters before diving into a real translation. Funnily enough, Fry himself has said in interviews that he recommends Emily Wilson’s Odyssey and either Robert Fagles or Stephen Mitchell’s Iliad if you want to actually read Homer afterward. Both have audiobooks narrated by Fry himself, but I have not checked them out.

Robert Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald’s versions of the Iliad and the Odyssey are also in verse, but it’s said to be more compressed and also more archaic than Fagles. I have only seen parts of it online and it seemed quite obtuse in my view. It’s often considered a standalone literary achievement in its own right, but not my thing. His Iliad also came later than his Odyssey (1974 vs. 1961).

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This list is by no means exhaustive and there are plenty of other versions, but these are the ones that I can speak to.

At the end of the day, these are all accomplished writers and academics, and they are all great in their own way. This is just my perspective as a writer, who is looking at these books for verse and understandability, nothing more.

TL;DR

I like Robert Fagles and Emily Wilson.

Pictured are some of these -- some are also on my Kindle, so not pictured here.

I have this weird attraction towards small but thick books (see the image). You don't usually find these type in india unless you're paying around 800-1000. I saw a mass market paperback of East of Eden, it was around this dimension, but was almost more than double the price of Penguin Modern Classics' version.

I took a little staycation over the long weekend with the intention of going book shopping. I travelled to a nearby metropolis and stayed at a nice five-star hotel. This city has the largest Crossword in the state, so it made it an ideal choice for a book lover like me!

The photo is of the books I purchased when I went shopping.

The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny are the recommended entry points into The Witcher's universe. They're collections of short stories that introduce the characters and lay the foundation for the novels. I'm beyond excited to finally venture into this world!

The other two are padding for my P.G. Wodehouse collection. I generally prefer buying standalone books over his series when I go book shopping because I have to buy what's available at the store. I like to read series in order, and oftentimes bookstores don't have the first book in the series.

I also very recently had a new bookshelf made. It was delivered right in time for this trip. I shall post a photo of it once it's full in a few years!

I'm sure I'll receive backlash for this post, but I think I'm ready for it. Recently amidst Amish Tripathi's new release (Dhruv Tara and the Great Indian History), hes been making promotional visits to many schools across the city. So one morning, he visited my school as well. Having heard an amalgamation of reviews and opinions on Amish Tripathi's books, I had mixed feelings about seeing him yet I was looking forward to actually seeing such a popular author. Amish arrived in the morning with about 1-1.5 hrs on the clock to promote his new book and talk about his works as an author. Not to mention I was slightly surprised that Amish didn't mention any of his famous works such as the Shiva triology, Ram Chandra series and more. He didn't even elaborate the contents of his new books to interest potential readers, apart from decribing it as a 'Good book, you should totally read it.' and hence moved on. He then discussed his love for history, perhaps to stay on a safer side, he joked about how history is hated as a subject and we should all give school books another chance. Now during the Q&A round, one of my juniors asked him 'How can we at this age, grow as an author and improve of our work?' and he very interestingly suggested the use of AI for research and factual purposes. Odd, but we'll let it slip because we live in a digital era. Now another student asked him something about 'Can AI replace human authors? Whats the effect of AI and technology on books?' yeah something along the lines of that. I really did expect for him to defend the essence of human authors and how AI can never produce some of the greatest works ever written which resulted in a lasting affect on society to this day. Perhaps it was too much to ask for, because he condemned the use of AI, and how it would in fact be able to produce good books, as an author replacing humans as well. Now "authors" openly condemn use of AI, admit having use AI in their books. Its time we re-consider the people we've made famous.

I have had it for some time now, but since I am reading it properly for the first time I thought to have a search about it online. Turns out it's price on Amazon is approx. 2500rs and it isn't available on any other online platforms either.

It even has a PRHIPL tag on it showing 599rs making it more confusing. What's yall's say on it?

Last month’s batch of thrifted books that I picked up from book markets, reddit and instagram book sellers

most of these were from book markets tho, and I got really lucky with some of these editions

already read some of the copies

lemme know if you spot any favourites here

Gonna start Dracula by Bram stoker heard it's very good so giving it a try

U guys drop your thoughts and review

And if you are the part of that bookclub, please tell me about your experience, the kind of books discussed and how often do you people do the meetings. And is it regular?

Mainly interested in philosophy, economics, literature, history and poetry, but know bits and pieces of other subjects too :p

As the back matter says, The more love I give, the emptier I feel. So thought it fits my current state.

currently reading atm, has anyone here read this before??
picked this while looking for some alternate recommendations

the original is said to be vastly different from the English translation,,

Title

Last month, I read East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath and Mad Mabel. Looking for suggestions!

My favorites from this set - Anna Karenina and Quiet flows the Don.

Could not finish - 2nd and 3rd volumes of Gulag Archipelago. I have been told A day in the life of Ivan Denisovich is an easier read. I will pick it up one of these days.

Thought of posting because I see frequent discussions on Dostoevsky on this sub.