The Odyssey

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A Notable Book of 2018 “Wilson’s language is fresh, unpretentious and lean…It is rare to find a translation that is at once so effortlessly easy to read and so rigorously considered.” —Madeline Miller, author of A masterpiece of translation. A revelation. Never have I been so aware at once of the beauty of the poetry, the physicality of Homer’s world, and the moral ambiguity of those who inhabit it. Emily Wilson’s crisp and musical version is a cultural landmark.… This translation will change the way the poem is read in English. In the history of translations, few have exerted such a cultural influence that they become ‘classics’ in their own right.… I predict that Emily Wilson will win a place in this roll-call of the most significant translations of the poem in history. She certainly deserves the honour. Emily Wilson has given us a staggeringly superior translation—true, poetic, lively and readable, and always closely engaged with the original Greek—that brings to life the fascinating variety of voices in Homer’s great epic. When I first read these lines…, I was floored. I’d never read an that sounded like this. It had such directness, the lines feeling not as if they were being fed into iambic pentameter because of some strategic decision but because the meter was a natural mode for its speaker. In her powerful new translation, Emily Wilson… has chosen immediacy and naturalism over majestic formality. She preserves the musicality of Homer’s poetry, opting for an iambic pentameter whose approachable storytelling tone invites us in, only to startle us with eruptions of beauty.… Wilson’s transformation of such a familiar and foundational work is… astonishing. Wilson’s translation is a superb achievement and a striking departure from the tradition of Homeric translation into English.… There is no elaborate or antiquated diction, just a crispness and clear-headedness that will seem quite alien to anyone familiar with earlier versions.… Wilson has produced a wonderfully distinctive—and modern—version of the poem. Irresistibly readable, Wilson’s turns Homeric epic into a poetic feast. This translation is a marvel! Bold and timely and ever so exciting.… As majestic as literature gets. US

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