The Odyssey

Homer

ISBN 10: 0670821624 / ISBN 13: 9780670821624

Published by Viking November 1996, 1996

About this Item

Support Small Business by buying this book! SIGNED 'Robert Fagles' on first title page, with inscription on following page: 'La Verne and Tom - Homeric good friends, always, Bob.' Hardback first edition first printing (full number line, 1996 Viking) of the Fagles Odyssey, signed. From a family-run bookshop in Steubenville, Ohio. Dust Jacket Good: creasing along top edge due to pulling book off shelf by top of spine. White cloth cover shows hints of foxing at top, with metallic orange lettering on spine and dolphins embossed on the cover. Beautiful pastedowns with an ancient Greek theme. Acid-free pages unmarked and bright. Lovely edition of this timeless classic touched by the hands of the translator, who was a kind teacher, brilliant at Greek, a lover of life, and the finest reader I have ever met. Signed copies are scarce, as Fagles was generally shy and did few book events. Jacket now protected in archival mylar. Seller Inventory # 125306

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Odyssey

Publisher: Viking November 1996

Publication Date: 1996

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Signed Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: Good

Signed: Signed By Author

Edition: First Edition.

About this title

Synopsis:

By its evocation of a real or imaged heroic age, its contrasts of character and its variety of adventure, above all by its sheer narrative power, the Odyssey has won and preserved its place among the greatest tales in the world. It tells of Odysseus' adventurous wanderings as he returns from the long war at Troy to his home in the Greek island of Ithaca, where his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus have been waiting for him for twenty years. He meets a one-eyed giant, Polyphemus the Cyclops; he visits the underworld; he faces the terrible monsters Scylla and Charybdis; he extricates himself from the charms of Circe and Calypso. After these and numerous other legendary encounters he finally reaches home, where, disguised as a beggar, he begins to plan revenge on the suitors who have for years been besieging Penelope and feasting on his own meat and wine with insolent impunity.

Review:

With the Trojan war finally over after many long years, Odysseus wants nothing more than a swift journey home where his throne and beloved wife, Penelope, await him. But Poseidon, the sea god, bears a grudge against him and plans to prevent his return across the wine-dark sea to Ithaca. Many tests of strength and character ensue as Odysseus's journey stretches out over the years, taking in a multitude of strange and wonderful places and creatures. That's the basic plot of the epic poem Homer told nearly 3,000 years ago, but, even now, a new English translation is a true literary event. The ancient story is told in easy-going, beautiful poetry, the characters speak naturally and the action moves along briskly. Even the gods come across as real people, despite the divine powers they constantly exercise. The Odyssey really is a gripping, fast-moving read.