![]() And it really is a wonderful, vigorous translation, with at least one surprising (and surprisingly perfect) word choice on nearly every page. The tight control that I sense in Danes’ voice is an effect of the verse she's reading, which is a tightly controlled five-beat line. If her Penelope sounds similar to her Telemachus, the increased softness of tone marks off her dialogue as efficiently as if Danes were working in full “impressionist” mode. Following Odysseus’ successful revenge, there is no mistaking the crisp orders of Odysseus for the joyful cries of Eurycleia. If it's a performance, it's at least a lively one, and if the characters don't have distinctive voices, Danes does vary pitch and speed and emotional tone for each. The effect is one of listening to a memorized performance rather than a spontaneous story. ![]() ![]() It's true that she doesn't give each character a distinctive voice, and also true that the narration, as opposed to the dialogue, proceeds in a narrow emotional register. I believe the reservations I expressed earlier were unfair, or at least stated too strongly. But honesty requires me to say that additional listening - of this and of other readings of The Odyssey - has changed my mind about the narration by Clare Danes. I'm including my original review below a number of people were kind enough to mark it as helpful. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. A fascinating introduction provides an informative overview of the Bronze Age milieu that produced the epic, the major themes of the poem, the controversies about its origins, and the unparalleled scope of its impact and influence. The result is a lean, fleet-footed translation that recaptures Homer’s “nimble gallop” and brings an ancient epic to new life. Her breathtaking rendition captures the poetic immediacy of the original text, while allowing listeners to experience The Odyssey with an honesty and directness few other versions have achieved. Beset at every turn, he encounters obstacles, detours, and temptations-both supernatural and human-while his wife Penelope fends off would-be suitors desperate to take the throne.Įmily Wilson is the first woman to take on the daunting task of translating over 100,000 lines of a three-millennium-old poem from Ancient Greek to modern-day English. When the wily warrior-king Odysseus sets off for home after the Trojan War, he doesn’t realize this simple undertaking will become a perilous journey of 10 years. Acclaimed actress Claire Danes burnishes an epic story of heroes, gods, and monsters in a groundbreaking translation of The Odyssey, the first great adventure story in the Western literary tradition.
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