Reader Score
82%
82% of readers
recommend this book
Critic Reviews
Great
Based on 9 reviews on
Humans and gods wrestling with towering emotions. Men fighting to the death amid devastation and destruction. Perhaps the Western world's first and best storyteller, Homer draws the reader in with bated breath. His masterful tale contains some of the most famous episodes in all of literature: the curse on the prophet Cassandra; the siege of Troy; the battle between Hector and Achilles; the face that launched a thousand ships; and of course, the deception of the Trojan Horse. To this day, the heroism and adventure of The Iliad have remained unmatched in song and story.
In his "plain English" translation, W.H.D. Rouse makes a point to keep the language as colloquial as Homer's original was, never pedantic, high-flown, or clichéd. In fact, it is the nearest contemporary English equivalent to the epic Homer's audience heard at their banquets.
"This translation is done by Emily Wilson, who is a classicist. She really made waves with her previous translation of the Odyssey... I love the idea of people across America waking up and saying, 'Honey, a new Homer just dropped.' That seems like a beautiful world to me."
"The experience of reading Homer must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of a new translation. In her version of the Iliad, Wilson enlivens the epic with rich sanguinary nutrients... [her] translation is zippy, and it zips the reader to a place and time of alien savagery."
Cliff Bleszinski is a video game designer.
Met a good friend of mine's parents at karaoke last night. Dad was named Homer. Me: Like the Iliad and the Odyssey? Him: Well, yeah, but most people assume The Simpsons. Me: Well, most people don't read. https://t.co/Cj1PR5RdTj