The Odyssey Audiobook By Homer, Robert Fagles - translator cover art

The Odyssey

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The Odyssey

By: Homer, Robert Fagles - translator
Narrated by: Ian McKellen
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The Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of every man's journey through life. In the myths and legends that are retold here, the energy and poetry of Homer's original is captured in a bold, contemporary idiom, giving us an edition of The Odyssey that is a joy to listen to, worth savoring and treasuring for its sheer lyrical mastery.

This audiobook is sure to delight both the classicist and the general listener and to captivate a new generation of Homer's students.

(P) and ©1996 Penguin Books USA Inc. Ancient, Classical & Medieval Literature Classics Collections Funny Thought-Provoking Mythology
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Critic reviews

1997, Audie Awards, Winner
"It's a deeply satisfying experience to listen to McKellen's subtle, resonant voice weave the story. Cherish the images as the web of this great tale is woven before the eyes of the mind." (AudioFile)

"To re-create a world where everything is living...is very nearly as difficult as to create it. Fagles does this with triumphant assurance; every arrowhead flashes lightning, every bush burns; Homer is with us." (James Dickey)

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Timeless Classic • Epic Adventure • Masterful Narration • Compelling Tale • Rich Storytelling • Memorable Scenes

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I am a college student and not used to this type of literature. when our teacher assigned this reading, I was overwhelmed because the reading seemed hard to understand and lots of work, but when I read the book with audible, it was fun experience and made my reading easy to read and understand; in fact, I ended up enjoying my book and looking forward for more.

Audible made my reading assignment easy

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The translation is wonderful, and the narration absolutely superb. I cannot imagine a better way to approach this 'classic' of classical literature.

Just about perfect!

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As you can expect, especially if you have taken some time to read other reviews of this book, the narration of Sir Ian McKellen is absolutely top notch. He flows through the text as though he were born to it, with no pauses at places where the order, and choice of words, show how very long ago this was written. His inflection help make the story become larger than life, and showcases why this is considered to be such a grand, sweeping, epic.

I have read an account of this book as a child, but wanted to experience the epic in its full timeless glory. I have to admit, I was a little surprised at how many tears were shed by practically everyone included in the story. They do not detract much from the deeds of the most unlucky of heroes, Odysseus; but there were times in which they did not seem to enhance the story much either.

There were a couple of places where there seemed to be minor technical issues. A word clipped, resulting in missing perhaps a second or two of reading. Later, a section of narration lasting several minutes, where it seemed the speed of the recording was reduced by a small percentage. Just enough to lower the pitch of Ian's voice and make him sound a bit tired. Based on the rest of the narration, I am confident that this was not the case, but rather an unfortunate effect of the audio editing.

I highly recommend this audio book, and can see it as a wonderful supplement to a high school or college course in which the Odyssey is required reading. I am glad that I finally made the choice to experience this ancient classic.

An Ancient Classic

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Fagles' is an excellent translation, and the reader is outstanding. One of the best contemporary translations. However, despite the "unabridged" label, this version appears to be subtly edited or cut down.

Unabridged?

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Ladies and Gentlemen, this book has been sold to us all wrong. Show of hands: who among you has heard mention of either The Iliad or The Odyssey and rolled your eyes over yet another "classic" work of fiction forced on unsuspecting high school students meant to bore us into submission? Dudes, this is seriously one of the most exciting books I've ever read. It's practically a ... Um, who's the current go-to action hero actor? Anyways, this is the movie he would star in. It's like if you took Quentin Tarantino to ancient Greece, told him to find inspiration, then let him go gonzo on the script without limits.

What's weird is that I thought I hadn't read this, somehow escaping it through my academic career. What I realized later was that I had read parts of it in my "Gender in the Classical World" honors lit class my freshman year of college. (I remembered only when I came on the tale of Circe. I remember having a quiz on this and failing horribly, because I didn't understand the context, but let's not go into a discussion of how poorly my high school prepared its students for the world of higher education.) Even then, I didn't enjoy the book, because the focus was on analyzing. No fault on the instructor; that's appropriate for a college course. But seriously, I feel like I missed out on taking in a landscape painting by a master, because someone blotted out all the canvas excepting a single blade of grass.

I have to admit, there were a few points that made me cringe as a modern reader, but one has to remind themselves that Homer reflected the values and morals of his time, not mine. Still, it was hard to stomach that Penelope is exalted for her commitment to Odysseus, remaining true to him for twenty years. Meantime Odysseus while trying to get home to her has no qualms about being sexed up by whatever goddess or nymph takes a fancy to him, and that's considered okay. Different times, different expectations...

You know why Homer has been passed down and survived through the centuries? Not because he gives us a picture into an ancient culture, religion, and history. Not because of its consequential anthropological richness. Not even because of its lyric quality for those who can read it in its original tongue. (ee cummings proved that language could be beautiful for beauty's sake without being purposeful.) It's because it's one hell of a story, and takes you on one-- actually numerous thrilling, epic adventures.

AUDIOBOOK notes: Ian McKellen's rendition was superior. However, I can't give the audiobook performance in whole 5 stars due to production value. This seriously needs to be remastered. It was obviously adopted for digital format from a copy of the tape production. Numerous times between chapters there was a huge change in the audio quality (getting softer, slowing down, sounding warped, etc.) There were even a few parts where there were "hiccups" in the flow, ie where a few words blotted out.

GREAT STORY, Ok Audiobook

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Fagles’ translation lack poetic rhythm. It is clear and easy to read and understand for a contemporary reader who just wants a pedestrian understanding or easy student reading. Also, the performance is good and dramatic but not outstanding. I prefer Derick Jacoby reading Allen Mandelbaum’s translation which is more poetic. But that Audible performance is somewhat abridged. This Fagles edition is not. As Homer is a auditory story not written down, I like reading while listening to the performance.

Translation; performance

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What does Ian McKellen bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have tried reading it before, but I could not get into it. McKellen's narration makes the text come vividly alive.

Superb performance of classic narrative

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Wow, my hats off to Mr. Fagles for a phenomenal translation. Really good. Narration was awesome too.

Great narration!

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This book is a legend. Homer's Odyssey, What else should I say? Oh snap. The audio book narration was performed by Ian Mckellen, (Gandalf) and is brilliant.

What would the gods say?

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This is a great performance and a great translation. For some reason, Book 11 played slow and distorted McKellan's voice.

Technical problems

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