The Odyssey

Homer, (trans. by Emily Wilson). The Odyssey. New York : W.W. Norton 2018. Print.

First Sentences:

Tell me of a complicated man,

Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost

when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy, 

and where he went, and who he met, the pain

he suffered on the sea, and how he worked

to save his life and bring his men back home.

He failed, and for their own mistakes, they died. 

Description:

A brilliant opening stanza. It is intimate, friendly, almost conversational, just like "Call me Ishmael" is. It's a summary of what's to come, enticing readers to learn more about the adventures, hardships, mistakes, and death in the coming stanzas. Who could resist telling the Muse to please continue immediately?

Best of all, you might notice that this telling is written as poetry, even employing iambic pentameter (you know, with each line's syllables following the rhythm of da-dum, da-dum, da-dum, the same as in Shakespeare's works). It's the most natural imitation of human speech, quite an accomplishment for Emily Wilson in her translation of The Odyssey by Hoimer.

And boy, is this telling of his adventures a lulu of a read. Many people are familiar with the story of Odysseus wandering around for 20 years trying to get back home to Ithaca after his triumph at Troy. But most may not be aware of the depth and complexities of his story found in this 12,000+ line epic poem.

Starting with the main figure, Odysseus, whom Wilson translates from the ancient Greek as a "complicated" man. He has violently sacked Troy, killed many people, and exists by the grace of Athena, his protecting goddess, who saves his skin in many instances. 

He has willingly faced known dangers, endangered his crew, and even allowed them to be killed by the whirlpool to distract the six-headed Scylla who eats one crewman with each head at the same time. He risks Poseidon's anger by blinding the sea god's son, Polyphemus, and then taunts the monster after. And he deliberately kills all the suitors of his wife Penelope who were free-loading for years off his estate. After that slaughter, he immediately kills15 slave girls from his household who had befriended the suitors. All with no remorse whatsoever.

He is clever in extricating himself from tight situations, able to lie to friends and foes alike, assume disguises to trick members of his own household, including his faithful wife, and live for years on his way back home as a virtual sex toy to both Circe and Calypso.

Throughout the poem, the gods play vital roles. On every page, one god or another helps, hinders, ignores, or downright tries to kill Odysseus and his crew. Messages are sent regarding the fate of Odysseus between Zeus and Athena via Hermes, the messenger god. Sacrifices are constantly made of hundreds of oxen, sheep, lambs, and other animals to thank, appease, or ask favors of various major and lesser gods. Whatever event occurs, Odysseus and all other figures reason that the outcome is due to the capriciousness of major and minor gods, or else due to human errors in their sacrifices or for not praising the deities enough. Gods, throughout The Odyssey, are a constant force in even the smallest of incidents.

But the action is tremendously gripping. Bloodshed is everywhere, and Odysseus holds no regrets or second thoughts for the men and beasts he has slain. It is simply part of his world in his mind, necessary actions required in order to return to his home and re-establish his world with his wife and estate.

Wilson, a professor of Classical Studies and also Ancient Greek at the University of Pennsylvania, has created an extremely readable translation of this epic. From the opening stanzas, she brings Homer's (or whoever created The Odyssey) saga to life in language that is both powerful and descriptive, yet never cluttered with jargon or pomposity. One can almost hear someone dramatically reciting this story around a campfire while listeners sit in rapt attention. The words pull you deep into the thoughts, actions, and consequences of each event, both good and bad.

I loved it, truly, and will probably re-read it again soon. While I haven't seen the Christopher Nolan film yet, I know I will find it falling short of the power, depth, and characters of this Wilson translation. But that okay with me. After all, what movie has ever matched the original book source material? I will go to the film with an open mind, but will undoubtably compare the two re-tellings and revert to Wilson's translation as the epitome of the story. Highest recommendation. 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings

The most breath-taking, page-turning, mythological quest novel ever (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

 

Circe

Miller, Madeline. Circe. New York: Holt 2017. Print.

First Sentences:

When I was born, the name for what I was did not exist.

They called me nymph, assuming I would be like my mother and aunts and thousand cousins. Least of the lesser goddesses, our powers were so modest they could scarcely ensure our eternities. We spoke to fish and nurtured flowers, coaxed drops from the clouds or salt from the waves. 

Description:

Quick. Harken back to your school days to answer this question: Who was "Circe"? Need a hint? How about "Odysseus?" "Sorceress?" "Deserted island?" Yes, Circe was a minor nymph goddess who lived on an island and interacted with Odysseus on his meandering voyage home after the Trojan War as depicted in The Odyssey.

Using these meager details from the epic poem, Madeline Miller fleshes out a complete history of the sorceress, from her birth to banishment from the heavens to her solitary, fulfilling life on her island in her high-entertaining, fascinating novel, Circe. 

Circe begins with Circe's origins as one of thousands nymphs born to Helios, the Titan (original) god of the sun, and Perse, daughter of the great Oceanos, Titan god of the sea. Daughter Circe recounts her life wandering the halls of the gods, even attending the trial of Promethesus for giving fire to man. (Zeus had to think hard on how to punish an immortal god whose body easily repairs itself).

Other gods and mortals are cleverly described, their motivations and actions detailed in a manner that makes readers understand what it would be like to be one of these beings. Daedalus ("a craftsman almost equal to a god"), Minos (king of Crete, son of Zeus and a mortal woman), Helios (wrathful god of the sun and father to Circe), and Zeus (who rules them all) appear in Circe's world with good and bad affect on her.

But when young Circe falls in love with the mortal Glaucos and figures out a way to make him an immortal, she runs afoul of Helios. She is exiled to the remote island of Aiaia to live with her servants alone. But she is free to pursue her unique skills of potion-making and spell-casting, traits shared only by her brother and sister in all of Olympus. And her new world offered many plants for her to experiment with to master their power.

For that flower, so delicate it could dissolve beneath your stepping foot, carried within it the unyielding power of aporophe, the turning aside of evil. Curse-breaker. Ward and bulwark against ruin, worshiped like a god, for it was pure. The only thing in all the world you could be certain would not turn against you.

It is to this island Odysseus comes when returning from his war in Troy and falls in love with Circe, and she with him. An idyllic life surrounds them, but Odysseus still feels the pull of travel and his faithful wife, Penelope, waiting for him in their home in Ithaca.

Living with him was like standing beside the sea. Each day a different color, a different foam-capped height, but always the same restless intensity pulling towards the horizon.

That's a lot of plot to give to you, but the beauty of Circe is in the wonderful, flowing, captivating writing. Each scene and character is presented as a real being interacting in a real world with real emotions, desires, and frustrations, despite the fact they are gods and goddesses, the stuff of legend, or magical fantasies themselves. 

I was completely absorbed in this tale, these characters, and their world both external and internal as their thoughts and desires are laid bare. Highest recommendation, one of the best books I have read this year.

Happy reading. 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Mendelsohn, Daniel. An Odyssey: A Father, a Son, and an Epic.   

When Mendelsohn's 80-year-old father decides to quietly sit in on his son's college class on an introduction to The Odyssey, his conflicting opinions and nature soon emerge to disrupt the class and the author/professor. This memoir is a great chapter-by-chapter explanation of The Odyssey, along with the personal recollections and experiences between the father and son, An Odyssey is a compelling, intelligent read. Highly recommended (previously reviewed here)