The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homer's Epic by Simon Armitage

The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homer's Epic Reviews

• 
  Nicky

  It's funny to think I didn't enjoy Armitage's work the first time I came across it. I think it was his translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight that changed that. He brought something fresh and dynamic to the poem, which made it a very different reading experience to other translations and adaptations. He's done the same here with The Odyssey. This is not a translation, or even a completely faithful adaptation: I can think of several places where it departs from the original poem.
  
  However, he brings that same dynamism to Homer's voice as he did to the Gawain-poet's. Some of the turns of phrase still ring perfectly true, mixed in with the modern vernacular he uses as well. I'm sure it drives purists crazy, but I set aside any professional qualms and just read it for enjoyment, and thought that he rendered some scenes beautifully -- more true to the spirit of the original than any stuffy translation, too, I think.
  
  If you want to read The Odyssey without reading the phrase 'rosy-fingered dawn', and you don't want to worry about Greek customs (xenia, for example), this makes it very easy to follow the story and understand the basic motivations of all the characters. It has a robust beauty to it that wouldn't work in translating, say, Vergil, but I think in translating Homer it works very well.
• 
  Dergrossest

  The Odyssey was probably my favorite book as child, with all of its fantastic adventures, memorable monsters and beautiful women. And Odysseus - wily, tough, but so very human Odysseus - was always my favorite hero. While I have returned to this story many times, rereading various translations, watching the movie adaptions and listening to Cream sing of the Tales of Brave Ulysses a thousand times, this recent adaptation has breathed fresh life into the story.
  
  Armitage is a poet by trade, as you can tell by his lyrical script for a theatrical version of the story, which was actually performed on the BBC in 2004. As was the case with his excellent translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, he is a beautiful writer who treads carefully between modernity and anachronism. More importantly, he still manages to stay true to the themes of the ancient Greeks. His Gods are mighty, terrible and meddling, but refreshingly non-omnipotent. His humans are deeply flawed, or harshly punished if they are not, but so much more interesting and ultimately important than the Gods can ever hope to be. The chapter in which Odysseus travels to the land of the dead and communes with fallen brothers-in-arms and family members is particularly illustrative of this exultation and fascination with man himself: Odysseus’ sense of loss, and the tragic desolation of the dead, which the Gods can never experience, was absolutely devastating and an amazing piece of writing.
  
  My only word of caution is that I believe that this book is best enjoyed by those who already know the story and, maybe, have already read one of the previous translations. However, even if you haven’t, it is simply too good a story to pass up. I loved this book and highly recommend it to all.
• 
  Andrew

  Great resource for class! It has some really fun moments to read together as a group. Plus, the text served nicely to illuminate some of the more complex dynamics in the poem.
• 
  SSC

  This is a brilliant and funny retelling of the Odyssey. It is enjoyable to read and characters come to life through the simple language.
• 
  Joe Hill

  One of the best classical adaptations/translations I've ever read
• 
  Leah

  So, I had to read this for class. But instead of doing what I did in high school and being all like, "The teacher assigned this book, it must be sooo boring," and not giving it a chance, I tried to pretend that I was reading it because I wanted to. I'm so glad I did that.
  
  I have to say, this is now one of my favorite books. It's a very easy read, Simon Armitage did a great job with that. I had to read parts of the older, denser version of The Odyssey years ago and it was like pulling teeth and I didn't even remember what I'd read. But this one is great. It's also got some pretty funny parts here and there. I found myself reading some of the lines sarcastically and that made it even better. The plot moves fairly quickly too which kept me interested. In my opinion, up until the very end it teaches some pretty good morals if you think about it. I will let you figure those out and decide for youself. There are beautiful metaphors throughout this books as well. I usually tend to prefer books loaded with details, but the vast marjority of this one is dialogue/monologue and there are very few descriptions. However, this actually didn't bother me at all. It pretty much forces the reader to imagine things for themselves, and you can't get caught up in/distracted by the details (which can sometimes make reading pretty tedious for me).
  
  To be perfectly honest, the only reason I didn't give this a five star rating is because I have been much more caught up in other books than this one. I did have a hard time putting this one down when I was reading it, and several times I chose to read it instead of another book that I'm reading (not for school), but I know I could have been even into it than that. I may even change my ratins later on. We'll see... I'm sure I'll read this again too. It's definitely worth the time!
• 
  Steve T.

  What it's about: This is the tale of Odysseus, a hero of the Trojan War, as he and his crew attempt to return to their home of Ithaca. It takes 20 years, and not because they couldn't read the map. While Odysseus is trying to make his way home, his wife, Penelope, is besieged by suitors who want her hand in marriage (and her lands and riches), since her husband must be dead. And their son, Telemachus, is in danger of being killed by Penelope's suitors. Will the Greek gods upon Olympus help Odysseus and his family, or take their revenge against the humans who have at times thwarted them?
  
  What I thought: This is an interesting adaptation of the original version of Homer's The Odyssey. Armitage was commissioned to create a radio play version of Homer's work, and he's done some interpreting and condensing along the way. Because this is essentially a script meant to be heard, rather than read, it sort of captures the spirit of the original, which was meant to be memorized and recited for audiences. But Armitage has removed the narrator and made almost the entire piece dialogue. He's pulled some clever tricks to make this work throughout the story, particularly in the way he's twisted up the timeline and created framing devices that allow him to tell the story partially in the present and partially in flashback.
  
  Why I rated it like I did: Armitage has done some clever work with his adaptation. He's made a very accessible version of what can be a daunting classic. I remember hating having to read passages of The Odyssey when I was in high school; I'm hoping this version is more palatable to my students.
• 
  Beka

  This excellent adaptation of Homer's epic tale is incredibly readable; once I started I basically couldn't stop!
  Armitage adapts the epic poem with incredible skill, to make a highly enjoyable play. I usually don't enjoy reading scripts, as I find it hard to engage, but for anyone familiar with the ancient text, it is refreshing to read this new adaptation.
  Of course, when adapting such a lengthy text, it is impossible to include everything, but I would have liked to see some scenes from books and 4, and Telemachus' encounters with Menelaus and Nestor included in the text. To me, Telemachus' maturation into a man, enabling him to be ready for the return of his father, is an important theme of the Odyssey, and could have been developed more in Armitage's play.
  Saying this, I particularly enjoyed Act II of the play, with Odysseus' retelling of his trials over the previous 10 years. I felt Armitage's use of both direct dialogue taking place 'in the past', and returns to the scene in the palace of the Phaeacians, was highly effective.
  I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fresh take on Homer's ancient text, although for those unfamiliar, I would always recommend reading a more traditional translation of the poem first, in particular Lattimore's.
• 
  Stuart

  A solid retelling of the ODYSSEY, though Armitage's lacks the linguistic brilliance and scope of Derek Walcott's stage version. This version is obviously more intended to be read aloud or done on the radio (as it was) than be staged, and it moves with a cinematic quality that allows for narrative progression that keeps Odysseus at the center, though somewhat at the loss of Telemachus as a hero in his own right. That said, a number of the lesser characters feel much more developed in this version, especially Amphinomus, Arete, Polites, Eurylochus, and Circe, giving those readers familiar with the Odyssey some refreshing perspectives to think about. Another interesting twist is treating Athena as a kind of secondary lead, and she and Zeus are given their own arc, with an unusually human view of their father/daughter relationship. The end of the story is particularly poignant, as most versions of the Odyssey tend to be, with Zeus having the final words, Athena the final actions.
• 
  Whit

  An interesting retelling of the Odyssey done in a script format, transcribed from a radio performance. It took me a bit to figure out why things were out of order in the story's plot, and I thought it was strange to start from the middle of the story and do the first half in a sort of flashback storytelling. I did, however, enjoy most of the characterizations that you don't normally enjoy in a traditional telling of this story. You are able to see more of the suitors and, while they are still hardly endearing men, you begin to see them as individual entities rather than just all the same. The scenes with the gods on Olympus felt...strange. They seemed strangely placed and I often found myself wishing they didn't exist; I'd have rather seen only their interactions with the mortals with a story focused more on the intelligence and machinations of the humans.
• 
  Bry

  I really enjoyed the Odyssey when I read it in college and I loved this adaptation. Armitage did a brilliant job of adapting the story, condensing the action, and updating the language while staining the emotion and beauty of the epic poem. FYI this adaptation was done to make a radio dramatization of the story.
  
  I was afraid it would be too dumbed down - too simple - when the original was so complex, detailed, and beautiful. Thankfully that was not the case. Obviously it is simplified just by converting it to today's English, but BBC was totally right in bringing on board a poet to do the adaptation and not just your normal author. Armitage has a way with pacing and words that does justice to the story, makes it easy for the reader, and still so beautiful.
  
  Highly recommended!
• 
  Douglas Adamson

  Simon Armitage’s interpretation of Homer’s Odyssey brings this classic in reach of those unschooled in Greek literature. It is written with wit and style and introduces us to the ancient Gods and the many foes that Odysseus has to do battle on his return from Troy. Meet Calypso, Circe and Cyclops and be entranced by the Sirens. The epic story is packed with wisdom and sage-like advice on the human condition that is as applicable today as it was when written millennia ago. Armitage should be congratulated for making this wonderful tale of heroism and ever-lasting love so accessible to any reader.
• 
  Maggie

  I loved Armitage's version of Gawain, so I'm giving this a try. I still need to read the original (or a translation of the original, since I can't understand Ancient Greek). Otherwise it feels like I know only Weird Al versions, know what I mean?
  
  Added:
  
  This was somehow less satisfying than Gawain, perhaps because I'm that further detached from the original tale (in Gawain the original text followed you from page to page). I love how effectively his poetry works from the standpoint of a radio play, but I'm not necessarily sure that his work moved me much.
• 
  Gabrielle

  This radio play, which was created in 2004 at the time of the Athens Olympics, is a masterful retelling of The Odyssey. The play fully uses the evocative power of the radio medium. The story gains weight when it is, it itself, a narrative, meaning that the second episode, where Odysseus entertains the court with the story of his travels, is made more powerful through being told to us, the listener, rather than told.
  
  I have only recently begun listening to audioplays such as this one, but I will make sure to try more of them.
• 
  Nicky

  Wowwweeee!!! Read this, it’s a fantastic story to get lost in.
  
  This was such a joy to read, it was spellbinding and I just got submerged in the telling of the tale!
  
  First reason This gets 5 stars - Simon Armitages ability to transform & recount this story so spot on the modern day money for choice of words, writing style, depth of description, imagery, and pace of the story.
  
  The other reason this bad buoy of a play gets 5 stars - it’s my first encounter with Greek Mythology ... and it’s now something I just want to read more and more of!
  
  Thank you Simon Armitage - simply brilliant!
  
  
• 
  Josh

  Not only was it fun to reread the story of The Odyssey, as I haven't read it in over ten years, but is was a hell of a lot of fun reading Simon Armitage's translation. It's written entirely in dialogue (with stage directions) and all in verse. I found myself reading passages out loud to myself, acting the part of Odysseus or Zeus or whoever. It's a nice light, and very entertaining read. Looking forward to reading it again down the road...
• 
  Sara

  I wish I had written this back when I finished the book about a month ago. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book--not because of lack of faith in Simon Armitage but because to me The Odyssey is like gold. Armitage's dramatic rendition is really well done. There is a terse modern edge to the dialogue that at the same time does not feel at all unsettlingly temporally distant from the original. The dialogue is alive, poetic, and engaging throughout.
• 
  Jonathan

  When we think of the story of Odysseus, we gravitate toward the fun episodes: Scylla and Charybdis, Circe, the sirens. But having actually read it this year, I was surprised by how much of the actual story isn't any of those things. Armitage's dialogue adaptation does an excellent job conveying all of that other stuff, which in the translation I read is stuffy and boring. An excellent version of the story, though perhaps one you ought to only approach after reading the original.
  
  5/5
• 
  David

  This is a masterpiece. To reduce 12000 lines of Homer to such an enjoyable read deserves all the plaudits Armitage has received since it was published 2004. The niggling gods, the Monty Python crew and the plotting suitors, mixed with passages of poetic lyricism and a 2500 year old storyline make this a masterpiece. What a shame this was not around when I was at School and I had to read it in Greek!
• 
  Carolyn

  This book turned out really good. At first I was dreading this unit in school, but this version of the book made it so much better. Even though I don't think I would have originally picked it up on my own, once I got into it I would read it in my free time. Next year, I could potentially read the real version for school, and I think this version is a good pathway into the denser one so that you can understand better what is going on. I really recommend this book.
• 
  Nathan

  This story has been told and retold so many times that it seemed unlikely I'd find a new version worth reading. Simon Armitage's version, a radio play adapted for the BBC, however, is surprisingly fresh and fun. His deft pacing and sense of humor give this a modern feel without being annoyingly unfaithful to the original Homer.
• 
  The Reader's Bookshop

  Retelling The Odyssey certainly won't get anyone points for originality, but Simon Armitage's dramatic retelling is perfect for anyone wanting to familiarize herself with Homer's epic without taking a sabbatical to read the original. The dialogue and characterizations are pitch-perfect and spot-on, like a very fun, lively school play.
• 
  David

  I read this book in about 3 to 4 hours. Often you read plays and poems but rarely do modern readers get to read radio transcripts where emotion has to be transferred through script. This transcript was well-written, and beautiful in its simplicity. I would definitely recommend reading it, or buying the BBC 4 radio copy.
  
  
• 
  Brian

  this was a good radio drama! i think i read parts of the odyssey before, maybe all of it. i remember it like i read it, but it is that kind of story.
  
  anyway, some parts of the play were off by ways of the voice volume. there were parts that i mostly missed because of the whispering or the dead people talking.
  
  but it was done well overall.
• 
  Emily

  I love the Odyssey and I was worried that this format would be too simplistic but the author made it work really well! I even got a little misty-eyes at the end. He did a great job of modernizing the language and making it a little tongue-in-cheek while maintaining the drama and suspense. I would definitely read more of his retellings!