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Summary: Homers Ashes Regathered
Review: I found it astoundingly poetic that Fagles was willing to dispense with all the ornaments and affectations of typical poetry to bring the Iliad to a new generation(however small)which is certainly less appreciative of poetry than the last, the last, the last. Poetry is becoming increasingly anachronistic with popular culture due to the horrific conditions of Americas Education system, and the beautiful classics of our poetic geniuses are slowly dying out with all other artforms. If one must sacrifice hardly intelligible poetic garnish to revive a forgotten epic for a generation without any palpable beauty or legitimate art to represent them, than he is a fool who critiques this man for his apparent absence of poetry. To revamp the Iliad into a skin that is recognizable by todays youth is a poetical bound and should be lauded,not disparaged. Secondly,I despise English translations of foreign works that try to be overly poetic.They are frustrating to no end attempting to read...translations of poetry to the English language should be kept simple,fundamental,and without unnecessary flourish,as it just ends up burying the genius and pertinence of the work beneath,eradicating the purpose of translation in the first. my icq is 17149282,drop me a line to chat.
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Summary: YES
Review: To disagree with Greg: it is apparent that many have enjoyed this translation. There are several viewpoints on what makes a fine translation, however -- in this case, the best translation must convey the guiding spirit behind the poem and also help to transport the reader to wherever the story takes him. A wonderful job has been done in this translation.For those of you who have not read this book or any other works by Homer -- read it. If you enjoy Greek works, especially other translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey, I strongly suggest that you get this translation of The Iliad and its counterpart of The Odyssey. You will not regret it.
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Summary: THE GREATEST WAR NOVEL
Review: IF YOU LIKED THE ODYSSEY THE YOU WILL LOVE THIS BOOK IT HAS TRAGEDY TERROR SUSPENSE AND VICTORY
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Summary: Wow! Has he really done the impossible?
Review: History shows us that "standard" translations are really translations for the time. As good as Pope's translation of the Iliad is - and it's good enough to stand on its own as an English poem - it definitely smacks of its time, particularly in how it moves and in its concern for rhetorical balance. Fagles has at least given me the Iliad of my own time. I read it the first time with part of me saying, "This is *so* good, can it last?" I have no idea. What impresses me so much is that it is undoubtedly wonderful poetry - poetry that makes you marvel at word choice and rhetorical construction - and yet it moves with the speed of an adventure novel. In other words, it exemplifies (as no other translation has for me) what scholars have been telling us about Homer for centuries. I don't understand classical Greek. I can't read Homer in the original, but I believe Fagles has given me something very, very close indeed.
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Summary: A good poem, but it's not the Iliad
Review: This poet's rendition of the _Iliad_ is enchanting, flows well, and may often fill one with a dramatic sense of awe. However, for all of that, it is not the _Iliad_ in any of the ways in which its original audience would have construed the poem. This poem retains very few of the features of the original oral-tradition deived work other than at least retaining scenes in the correct order. If a reader wants a fun poem to read in his or her spare time, this version of the Greek classic is fine; if one wishes to know what Homer actually sang and how he sang it, there are many other translations out there that do far more justice to the original poetics of this epic masterpiece.
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Summary: Searing, enlightening, gorgeous
Review: Fagles' translation is so immediate that reading his Iliad, one sucks on the dust of the Trojan battlefield, scarfs down wine by the ships, and endures the salt of tears as Hector bids goodbye to his son. With characters this sharply defined, stories this gracefully interwoven, battle so terrifyingly described, there is little wonder this story has lasted for millenia. A stunning achievement, and a truly gorgeous homage to Homer.
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Summary: The best translation I have read
Review: I first read the Iliad in 8th grade. I read large chunks in Greek when I was a young adult. I have read several translations of this poem since (including the Lattimore and Fitzgerald translations), but nothing until this book has caught the raw edge of Homer's language. Little wonder, as another reviewer suggested, that this book has been cherished for 3,000 years.
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Summary: Riveting performance, but cheapened by abridgment
Review: This is an absolutely riveting reading of a great translation; I listened to it on the Ohio Turnpike and got a speeding ticket, so "into" the performance I was. Jacobi's reading was convincing on all accounts and in all the roles he had to take on: man, woman, god, godess, royalty, plebeian, etc. A tour de force; obviously, he practiced a lot! The music and Maria Tucci's brief intermissions were also well done, making the overall production superb. Unfortunately, the whole thing is cheapened by the abridgment. I've read Fagles' text as well, and whole chunks were cut in the audio version. Where is the story of Aeneas, the funeral games, the important wrangling of the gods and godesses, the full range of statling battle scenes, Diomedes against the gods, to mention only a few. Such cuts left a bad taste in the mouth: "You mean I listened for 9 hours and didn't even get the whole thing?" Cuts were NOT done to the audio version of Fagles' Odyssey, which made it more satisfying, even if the reader was not up to Jacobi's standards (though not bad). "Abridged version" should be clearly marked on the box; listeners are cheated otherwise. I look forward to a complete version of this excellent translation; if the production is anything like the current, deformed version, the set would be a masterpiece to be owned by all lovers of the classics.
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Summary: Men, Violence, and Western Culture
Review: Fagles' translation is totally readable. It is lyrical and accessible. You will be amazed at Homer's insights into the western male ego's characteristic attempt to balance fragile vulnerability with "overweening pride." Homer shows us the shame of violence that constitutes the tragic foundation of Western Culture - the overwhelming sense of mortality that overshadows our deep passion for life. Read this book. It is an essential clue to the solution of the murderous male puzzle that is known as The West.
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Summary: How to tell a human
Review: If you are an alien, and you are trying to understand what humans are about, this and the Odyssey are major keys. They were both popular back in something we call 1000ish BC (or something like that) and people who have the mind to read these two epics today are still moved by them. 3000 years of greatness is the best warranty you can get on a product.
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