The Odyssey
by Homer
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Book Summary Information
Author: HomerTranslator: Randy Lee Eickhoff
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2001-11-17
ISBN: 0312866690
Number of pages: 432
Publisher: Forge Books
Book Reviews of The Odyssey
Book Review: Beautiully Faithful...and Beautifully Unfaithful
Summary: 4 Stars
This translation by Eickhoff is one of the wonders of translation! It is the most beautifully crafted version of Homer.
This being said, it has the most amount of translator's insertions I've ever come across! For instance take the opening. He continues Homer's invocation by a page and a half of his own invention! A blasphemy to die-hard Homer fans as well as scholars. He renders Homer text with great sensitivity and faithfulness, but at the same time almost every passage of the translation contains additions he adds onto the existing lines of Homer.
It is almost like E.V. Rieu's version but taken to extremes!
He explains that this is interpreted from the text itself as "nuances". Rightly so, in my opinion. (When one reads The Odyssey or The Iliad one often feels, and imagines much much more that what one reads on the page). And Mr. Eickhoff with great risk, boldly presents these imaginings into his translation.
But as many people who can easily get pissed off about this and who are only interested in complete fidelity to the original, there is much to be admired about his risks.
The translation reads beautifully, and easily. The print and font on the page are equally beautiful.
His extensive notes at the back of the book are of the utmost value, and explains much in his introduction about the translation, the history of it and its original composition.
It is an amazing edition in sum...a kind of "ultimate" version of Homer's Odyssey. Surely not a first choice for those studying Homer, but great for those first timers, and for those already familiar with the story and seeking a keen new interpretation for comparison.
Summary of The Odyssey
The Odyssey is the original journey tale, a genre that has lasted three thousand years, and has had a lasting influence on on literature and art. The trials of Odysseus were first told by the great bard Homer. For ten long years the Greeks and Trojans have fought on the plains of Troy, and now Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, and the other victorious Greeks are ready to sail home. But after offending the sea god, Poseidon, Odysseus is hurled into years of wandering the seas, encountering monsters and sirens, raging storms and seductive idylls, before he is able to return to his wife, his son and his homeland.
This masterpiece keeps its appeal not only because it reflects a glorious time of heroes and wonders, but because it is a work that still speaks to the lives we live today. Forge book is proud to present The Odyssey in Dr. Eickhoff's compelling and authoritative new translation.
This masterpiece keeps its appeal not only because it reflects a glorious time of heroes and wonders, but because it is a work that still speaks to the lives we live today. Forge book is proud to present The Odyssey in Dr. Eickhoff's compelling and authoritative new translation.
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