★★★★★ | Ancient | Print | Own | StoryGraph | Goodreads
It was high time I reread this classic. I found the story much more engaging that The Iliad — crafty Odysseus and his wily ways. There are so many stories in this epic that are embedded in our literary subconscious — Circe, Calypso, the Sirens, the Cyclops, revenge against the suitors, etc. Because of its legacy, I can’t rate this any lower than a five. And yet, I didn’t find myself rooting for Odysseus after all his hubris and, in particular, thinking of all the grieving fathers who lost sons during his exploits. And what for?
Highlights
A man who has been through bitter experiences and travelled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.
Sleep, delicious and profound, the very counterfeit of death.
Yea, and if some god shall wreck me in the wine-dark deep,
even so I will endure…
For already have I suffered full much,
and much have I toiled in perils of waves and war.
Let this be added to the tale of those.