Odyssey - the Barnes & Noble review
The Trojan war has ended and all the heroes have gone home. Penelope grieves for her husband Odysseus, not knowing if he is alive or dead. Telemachus has grown up without a father and searches for direction, hoping against hope that Dad will come home and make everything better. Odysseus grieves for his family, knowing that they will be grieving for him.
Odysseus' fate is to make it home at last, but not without several boatloads of terrifying adventures. Once he finally reaches home, however, more peril lurks in his own house. He remains incognito, yearning for recognition and a warm welcome, but knowing his life - and possibly his son's - depends upon his remaining a stranger a little longer.
Although the gods play a key role in Odysseus' troubles, I find it difficult to credit any of them - even Athena - for his ultimate success. His patient endurance and gift for tactics and strategy are his ultimate saviors. It is easy to admire this "man of twists and turns" and rejoice with him when he is finally truly at home.
I thought I had read The Odyssey before, but I don't remember it being as wonderful as this. I think the reality is that The Odyssey is so much a part of Western culture that many of the stories are familiar from a variety of sources.
As with The Iliad, I read Robert Fagles' translation, and it virtually leaps off the page, begging to be read. I had a hard time putting it aside.
SET - 8/6/99