MN Readalong : Homer’s The Odyssey in 2026

[EineReiseDurchDieZeit]

Proposing 2 chapters a month so for January

1. Athene Visits Telemachus
2. The Debate In Ithaca

Convening at the end of each month

Everyone welcome!

I think A Thousand Ships is better than Stone Blind.

I was bored by Stone Blind and disappointed by the final Pat Barker but maybe Iwas a little distracted at the time. I thought maybe I'd burnt my way through and out of the niche.
I did find Natalie Haynes an engaging speaker, just didn't gel with that book.
Very excited about the original in such a thoughtful translation. I'm pretty certain the last version I looked through was Marcia Williams and the previous one was from 1980s Slough Borough councils library service.

@BookEngine I didn't like the last of the Pat Barker trilogy much either - being with a different character after Briseis worked less well IMO.

I am loving The Odyssey, thank you. Have a mild obsession with Gk myths and Greece itself. As annoying as Telemachus is, he was a product of his time I think. I wonder why the other supposedly great men (Mentor, Nestor etc) didn’t step in sooner and at least offer advice,if not actual support.

Thank you so much for this post and the substack link. That article made me very happy!

@BookEngine I have read quite a few modern novels relating to Homer and most of them are unconvincing (IMHO 🤓). However, I absolutely adored The Lost Books of the Odyssey by Zachary Mason. I don't know how to describe it really, it's little sections that play with the story.... Recommend!
I also adore Nobody by Alice Oswald -a book length poem based on the Odyssey.

I too was
rrally disappointed with the last book of Pat Barker’s trilogy- I had saved it to read while I was in the Peloponnese and visited Mycenae which nearly made it more disappointing. The mythical retelling I enjoyed most was The Firebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley from Cassandra’s point of view but I was about 20 when I read it and such horror stories have come out about the author since that I couldn’t recommend it.
I’m doing a buddy read of Ulysses this summer - not confident that I’ll get through it but I reckon this reread of the Odyssey can only help.
(Edited for autocorrect)

Just to say that we next convene on Saturday 28th February reading

3 . Telemachus with Nestor

and

4 . Menelaus and Helen

Thanks!

I will be on holiday on 28th but look forward to reading everyone’s thoughts, DD is buying me Emily Wilson’s translation of The Illyad for my birthday,

Ds is reading a graphic novel of The Odyssey and I've asked to borrow it after he's finished 🤗
I promise to read the real thing as well but I feel it may help.

I just had a library notification that the copy I ordered has arrived so I hope to join you all for discussion at the end of the month.

On Greek inspired stories, I just read Daughter of Darkness, which is not based on any story, but is set in the world. So a group of people are on a epic adventure through the underworld. I thought it was very good. Aimed at YA I believe.

Stone Blind I didn't really like that much, I did like Song of Achilles though.

Joining in a bit late as I got a bit bogged down in the Preface, but once I got to the text (Emily Wilson’s translation) it was fantastic. I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I particularly liked the dialogue and the conflict between Telemachus and the suitors as this felt especially vivid.

On a side note, my Kindle version has some really cute drawings of owls between each book, which I very much appreciate. E-books have many advantages for me (don’t take up bookcase space, don’t require dusting, make it harder to skip ahead etc.) but I still miss the maps and pictures of real books.

I had a lovely lunch break today sitting in the sun reading books 3 & 4. Feel like we're getting into the story properly now. I'm looking forward to discussing it this weekend.

I've finally managed to jump into this but only read book one so far (Emily Wilson translation) and loving it.

For a very different book inspired by ancient Greek culture, I highly recommend Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon.

I love Glorious Exploits! It was my top read of 2024

Ah, I do agree, what a wonderful book 🙌

Gosh the end of the month seemed to come quickly! Thanks for the reminder, @Stowickthevast .

For those of you enjoying the Emily Wilson Translation, would you recommend it more as an Audiobook or Paperback? I quite like the idea of having a proper hard copy to hold, maybe because its such an old story, and maybe vanity would like to see it on the bookshelf! But these stories would originally have been told aloud, so I like the idea of listening to someone telling me the tales. I am also not great at names and understanding how they should be said when I read them. If someone reads them to me then I wont have to keep looking up how to say them aloud!

Any recommendations, listen or read do you have a preference.

(I borrowed a copy from the library for the read along but it has holds so will have to return it at the weekend and so far haven't had a chance to get started, but am due a hospital stay next month so thought I could catch up then)

Thanks.

@Hoolahoophop I’m listening to the Wilson, it’s good, it’s read by Clare Danes

I originally listened to the audiobook version of the Wilson translation for a similar rationale to you. I also wasn't confident about reading poetry (I end up getting pauses in the wrong places and turning it into a disjointed jumble) so it helped to listen and just focus on hearing it told as a story.

I have the book too now - I find it easier to read having first heard the story. With the book you can then cross reference to her translator's notes more easily, but I wasn't interested in that initially.

Only thing with the audiobook is I find I have to do something else at the same time otherwise my mind drifts and I stop listening. I know someone who knitted while she listened to it for the same reason.

Thanks @EineReiseDurchDieZeit and @tumbletoast I think I might try the audio book then. If I love it I can always buy a copy later, in fact once its a bit older it might come down in price and I do have a few audible credits.

I look forward to listening and joining you all for some discussion soon.

Good Morning! How are we all feeling about books 3 and 4?!

Morning. I really enjoyed these two chapters where the story moves on and we meet a couple of the main characters from the Iliad, Helen and Menelaus.
It was interesting how sympathetically Helen was portrayed now that she's back with Menelaus. Lots of references to her being the daughter of Zeus, and no-one seemed particularly annoyed that her running off with Paris had caused a major war and hundreds of deaths! It was also interesting to hear the Clytemnestra/Agamemnon tale, again sympathetic to Agamemnon but I guess it was being told by his brother. I think this story is a bit more nuanced in some of the plays. I mean Agamemnon did sacrifice his daughter so I think he deserves whatever is coming to him.
Narratively, the action is still very much reported to us by other people. I liked a lot of the scene setting and daily details here though, like dipping the cow's horns and the different preparations for their feasts.
That was quite a lot! Interested in what others thought.

I’m a bit behind. Plan to reach the chapters this weekend.

The story is moving on here, I’m enjoying Telemachus’s travels.

It’s odd that Menelaus, who spent ten years fighting with his father, didn’t recognise him, yet Helen then rocks up and spots the resemblance straight away. Helen seemed to take the blame for the Trojan war which felt a bit wrong as events were out of her control. I did like the preparation for the sacrifice and details of the feast.

I think that Meneleus' reticence in not immediately leaping in to the identity of Telemachus is partly the etiquette of guest friendship and partly drawing out of dramatic tension.

As a retired archaeologist (though not in the ancient Mediterranean alas!) I also love all the detail about buildings and objects. A couple of years ago we visited the Royal Macedonian tombs (the family of Alexander the Great) which at around 300BC are rather later than the period written about in the Odyssey, but there were objects from high status women's graves which included actual golden sandal soles, Athena style - amazing. Possibly even a nod to that, as Alexander was known to have read the Iliad and known it well, so people at that time knew the texts.