The Ideal Travel Book

It makes no sense of writing about Odissey - probably one of the most thoroughly analyzed books (I must recommend Pietro Citati's wonderful book on Odissey) - but I think it is very important to say something about the audiobook experience of it.

As an admirer of Susan Sarandon's "persona", I was first drawn to buying the title for her endorsement of this project. I must say that, in the beginning, I was a little disappointed to realize that her role is limited to the reading of introductory sinopsis of each chapter and that the bulk of Homer's actual text is narrated by Stanley Lombardo. But, gradually, I became more and more dazzled by Mr. Lombardo's breathtaking enactment of Odisseus great journey. The weight and scope of the great speeches of the book is totally matched by the narrator, introducing subtle intonations to each character but never loosing the "real feel" of the meaning of what's being said to the one who is saying it. The voice of Odysseus resounds in my head while I'm writing this review...

As for the translation, though english is not my native language, I compared with other translations in other languages and this is second to none.

I've listen to the book while traveling to work by bus, and I must say it was a great experience. The audiobook really brings out the adventurous character of the story and it is really great to hear the first "roadbook" ever written while on the road.

Highly recommended!

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2 people found this helpful

Odyssey

Really really enjoyed this. Having read the Iliad at school (classical civilisation) & also the Audible version (again narrated by Stanley Lombardo) I'd never read the Odyssey. It's a masterful tale, telling the story of Odysseus' return from the fall of Troy & the voyage home.
Many epic adventures follow including encounters with the lotus eaters (remember the famous Star Trek episode ?) the infamous Polyphemus, & the sirens among many others.
I remember this book particularly as a holiday read, abroad, listening to it in the heat of the night in Lanzarote with glasses of cold beer, and beside the pool in the daytime (again with cold beer.......)
Really recommend this classic, and Lombardo's unique characterisations are really rather refreshing. Enjoy !

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Okay I guess

I was mostly using this for revision. having read the odyssey with a different translation, I have to say I wasn't a massive fan of this one. also personally I found the American accents slightly jarring, especially when words were pronounced wrong. there were also a few moments when the emphasis and tone of certain scenes made it quite clear that the narrator didn't have the greatest knowledge about what he was reading. however it was fine for me overall to revise from and I liked the short summary of each book given at the beginning of each chapter.

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Wrong subtitles

I may be wrong about this but this seems to me more like an abridged retelling than an unabridged translation of the Odyssey, despite what the subtitles says. Certainly, the words spoken in this audible book does not conform to the 'Speak, Memory – Of the cunning hero...' translation you would expect when told that it is the Lombardo translation.

I suppose the performance itself is very good if you don't mind what translation/ retelling version of the Odyssey to listen to, but really I was looking for an audible book that speaks the Lombardo translation.

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