The Odyssey (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by Homer

Book Overview

&&LIThe Odyssey&&L/I, by &&LBHomer&&L/B, is part of the &&LI&&LIBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I &&L/Iseries, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of &&LIBarnes & Noble Classics&&L/I: New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. &&LIBarnes & Noble Classics &&L/Ipulls together a constellation of influences--biographical, historical, and literary--to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. Long before &&LIThe Lord of the Rings&&L/I, &&LIStar Wars&&L/I, and Harry Potter, the ancient Greek poet &&LBHomer&&L/B established the standard for tales of epic quests and heroic journeys with &&LIThe Odyssey&&L/I. Crowded with characters, both human and non-human, and bursting with action, &&LIThe Odyssey&&L/I details the adventures of Odysseus, king of Ithaca and hero of the Trojan War, as he struggles to return to his home and his waiting, ever-faithful wife, Penelope. &&LPAlong the way he encounters the seductive Circe, who changes men into swine; the gorgeous water-nymph, Calypso, who keeps him a "prisoner of love" for seven years; the terrible, one-eyed, man-eating giant Cyclops; and a host of other ogres, wizards, sirens, and gods. But when he finally reaches Ithaca after ten years of travel, his trials have only begun. There he must battle the scheming noblemen who, thinking him dead, have demanded that Penelope choose one of them to be her new husband--and Ithaca's new king. &&L/P&&LPOften called the "second work of Western literature" (The Iliad, also by Homer, being the first), &&LIThe Odyssey&&L/I is not only a rousing adventure drama, but also a profound meditation on courage, loyalty, family, fate, and undying love. More than three thousand years old, it was the first story to delineate carefully and exhaustively a single character arc -- a narrative structure that serves as the foundation and heart of the modern novel. Robert Squillace's revision of George Herbert Palmer's classic prose translation captures the drama and vitality of adventure, while remaining true to the original Homeric language.&&L/P&&LP&&LBRobert Squillace&&L/B teaches in the Cultural Foundations division of New York University's General Studies Program. He has published numerous essays on literature and the book Modernism, Modernity and Arnold Bennett. &&L/P

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1593080093
• ISBN13: 9781593080099
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble Classics
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A phenomenal deal for a little volume!

I was able to get a “Very Good Condition” copy of this for less than $5, and was very pleased with it. In the version I received, there has not yet been annotations seen in it, and the book itself is impressively small and easy to understand compared to the other times I’ve read translations of the Odyssey. Very good for the average reader, or for academics wanting to understand the story before looking at it more intellectually!

Very disappointed

I bought a copy in “like new” condition, and got a book covered in annotations from different people all over. I was very disappointed, as I needed a copy quickly for school.

Good condition means Falling Apart?

I bought the book with the good condition status. But I received one that is literally falling apart. Very disappointed.

perfect

exactly what you want when thrifting homer

5 stars for being unique and comfortable in its own skin.

Most everybody knows about the Odyssey of Homer (the story and all that), so this review is about this particular translation by Stanley Lombardo. You have the classic English verse translations (Chapman, Pope, Cowper) and the classic prose translations (Butcher and Lang, Palmer), then you have the twentieth century crowd (Lattimore, Fitzgerald, Mandelbaum, Fagles, Rieu, Rouse, Shewring etc...) Some of these are verse and some prose, some literal and some poetic. Some are easy to read and some more difficult. Lombardo's translation of the Iliad and the Odyssey are somewhat unusual in that they are both verse and very clear and easy to read. Very much modern-day speech. Not that Fagles or Fitzgerald or Mandelbaum, for instance, (all verse translations) are difficult to read, but Lombardo's verse translation is really in a different category. His translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey sort of stand alone in their simple style and may be worth reading for that reason alone. I think also there is an unselfconsciousness in Lombardo's effort - and attitude - as well as a "very well then hang me, devils" confidence that comes through. Fresh, quick, engaging, spare, alive (typical words used by professional/academic reviewers for this translation...) An interesting touch by Lombardo is whenever Homer goes into one of his celebrated similes or metaphors Lombardo puts them into italics and sets them apart in the text. There are more of these in the Iliad than the Odyssey, but it is interesting to read them separate this way. He uses very much 'man on the street' expressions, and his verse reads very quickly, or, 'lightly' like a clear stream flowing easily over stones. I don't want to give the impression these are simplified versions of Homer's epics. They are real, unabridged translations. Serious translations, and though they are relatively new they seem to occupy a unique position in the gallery of English translations of Homer. They are worth aquiring for their uniqueness alone if you have the usual abiding interest and curiosity in new translations of Homer that most people develope who are drawn to these two epic poems.