The Odyssey
Homer, 8th century BC
541 pages
Read in 2008
Check the synopsis and details on amazon.com
🔽 Summary and quick note 🔽
✔ An epic of Odysseus, a hero and king who is returning home after Trojan war
✔ You strangely feel close to Greek gods and ancient heroes, because they are so "human"
✔ Actually an exciting book even for today's standard, full of entertainment and melodrama
★★★★★ I was expecting something a bit more solemn, silly me, if it was boring, human wouldn't be reading it for 2800 years. There are gods, but they are so human, there are desires, betrayals, mistakes, lots of killing, to a point it gets a bit grotesque - totally exciting and entertaining.
🔽 Book review 🔽
Seriously, it was entertaining.
I am not familiar with the ancient Greek or ancient history, so I was expecting something a bit more solemn, but when you think about it, if it was boring, human being wouldn't be reading it for nearly 2800 years.
What's fascinating (for an amateur like me) is the revelation that gods were so close to human, in fact, they are so human.
In terms of the plot, as we all know, it's about our hero Odysseus trying to get home after a long war of Trojan War.
And I mean really, "trying" because there are gods who are trying to stop him all the way, from Poseidon to Nymphs to Sirens, while some others do help him.
In the meantime at home they think he's dead so there's a long queue of awful men trying to marry his wife for money and his son decides to go out there to look for his father.
They are gods, but they are so human, and throughout there are desires, jealousy, betrayals, mistakes, lots of killing, to a point it gets a bit grotesque - meaning, it's totally exciting and entertaining as a story, even if we are reading it today.
A book that we should read more than once, and can have different opinions between readers and between the first time you read in your 20s and the second time in 40s, or 60s etc.
I read Penguin Classics version, thank goodness for the introduction because it IS a difficult read if you have no clue about the ancient Greek and their sentiments.
p.s.
Next month, in July 2026 Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey will be out - can't wait!
🔽 Related pages 🔽
🔽 Where to buy / Summary and more info 🔽
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The Odyssey
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