The Odyssey: A Dramatic Retelling of Homer's Epic

by Simon Armitage

Book Overview

In this new verse adaptation, originally commissioned for BBC radio, Simon Armitage has recast Homer's epic as a series of bristling dramatic dialogues: between gods and men; between no-nonsense Captain Odysseus and his unruly, lotus-eating, homesick companions; and between subtle Odysseus (wiliest hero of antiquity) and a range of shape-shifting adversaries--Calypso, Circe, the Sirens, the Cyclops--as he and his men are "pinballed between islands"...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0393330818
• ISBN13: 9780393330816
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.53 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A new telling of one of the greatest stories ever told

Armitage's version of the Odyssey is a series of scenes written as free verse dialogs. It was written for a series of BBC radio presentations. His Odyssey is well-written, really clips along, and captures the spirit and excitement of the full-length work. In spite of a few anachronisms (which drive me crazy), I really liked it. The dialog format works very well for Homer, which is already quite kinetic and cinematic. Armitage boils things down to their bare essence, leaving us with a gripping and engaging tale. Many purists will call this Homer-lite. Even so, it is fun, exciting, and certainly worth reading. And if it inspires a few readers to read The Odyssey in its entirety, then it has more than done its job.

The Odyssey brought to life

This is a wonderful dramatization of the Odyssey. Check out the BBC audiorecording of this dramatization--it is fantastic listening. The story literally comes to life. For the first time, I really appreciated the stories in the Odyssey. If you are looking for a version of the Odyssey that you will really enjoy, this is it.

for Everyone who has been unable to read the translated works

I own just about every version of the Odyssey that has been translated into the English language. I own them because I love mythology ... but apparently, I only love reading literature that isn't hard to follow or whose poetic structure bores me to sleep. While I was walking past the poetry section of the bookstore, this book fell off the bookshelf onto the floor. I picked it up. It wasn't very thick. I thought, "How did I miss this one?" So I leaned against the bookshelf and started to read. And from the first few pages I knew this was something special, what I'd been looking for ... what I'd been hoping to experience with all the direct translations I'd purchased over the years. I purchased the book and read it in one night. My mother and sister did the same. What we have here, Ladies and Gentleman, is the Odyssey not as an interpretation but as Homer's Adventure (at long last.)

A fresh perspective on a classic tale

This is essentially Armitage's script for a BBC Radio production of the Odyssey. He condenses -- if that's the word -- the story into a series of conversations between its characters. The language is both rich and readable, everyday and heroic. Armitage uses the conversations to strike at the core of the story, and to offer a look into the psychology of gods and men. Despite its much shorter length, this Odyssey manages to retain its epic scope. For those not familiar with the original work, this version may serve as a fine introduction. And for those who are steeped in the classic poem, this Odyssey offers a fresh perspective. Highly recommended.

Ulysses yesterday, today and always!

I thoroughly enjoyed this most poetic re write of the Homeric Odyssey, the story of Odysseus on his return to Ithaca, following the Trojan wars and his sojourn on Malta with Calypso. I was so taken with this account I wrote to the author care of his agent. I feel this story is relevant to us all, on all levels. We are, each of us, our very own Odysseus, our very own heroes and heroines and our lives are heroic. We are the storytellers of today. In deep ways one could say that Memoir and Narrative are flowering in this century. The metaphoric connects and even the words are here with us today. We have our atlases and in my part of the world, in Cambridge MA there are businesses like Hermes Auto Repair. We might not be aware of this, but we are all of us on a deep journey and, as the ancient storytellers sitting by the fires, we love to tell about our very own exploits, big and small. It's what we do coming through. And if you look at the word Story itself, and deconstruct the letters you will find, magically, that Troy lies within. I am saying this is a good, quick read, bringing to life in an easy, poetic fashion this mythic story and I am also saying it has deep relevance to our lives, today. In short, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope you do, too.