The Odyssey

April 21, 2008
One of Britain's most successful poets, the versatile and clever Armitage follows up his translation of the medieval poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight” with this engaging and compulsively readable adaptation of Homer's epic, in which the wily sailor-hero Odysseus must outplay, outwit or outlast seductive nymphs, a malevolent enchantress, a one-eyed giant, and his own impious crew in order to reach his home island, his son and his faithful wife. Written for BBC radio, Armitage's version is not a translation of the ancient Greek epic, but rather a dramatic rendering, divided into scenes with parts (mostly in verse) for voice actors. Armitage delivers fast paced and decidedly contemporary language: Odysseus himself envisions “A freak wave cracking the keel of some poor sailing ship.... Just the Gods doing their thing.” The transformation of a tale about one man into exchanges among sets of characters can make things seem choppy early on, but it pays off when Odysseus reaches home and has to maintain his disguise until he can slaughter his wife's suitors. Armitage's play will entertain, if not enlighten, anyone interested in the fresh ways that Homer's story can be told.

October 27, 2014
British actor Stevens of Downton Abbey fame brings Homer’s epic poem to life with this well-executed reading of the classic tale of the Greek hero Odysseus and his 10-year journey home. When Odysseus is presumed dead after the Trojan War, his wife, Penelope, is awash with suitors looking to court her and in turn take over the land. While Penelope stalls the persistent suitors, her husband is cursed to wander the seas encountering all manner of mythical beings and even the gods, who all play their part in helping, or mostly hindering, the hero in his quest to find home. Stevens, with a cool, unmannered delivery, brings a modern vocal interpretation to his performance, making this ancient poem engaging to the modern ear and easy to listen to. With his relaxed reading, Stevens proves that this classic poem is definitely not some dry, dusty work of ancient history, but a vibrant exciting story that, like the best tales of adventure, works best when read aloud, as scholars contend it was intended. A Farrar, Straus and Giroux paperback.

Every library should own this wonderful translation of THE ODYSSEY. The introduction provides an overview of Greek verse and explains its rhythmic scheme. Rodney Merrill then launches into a performance that is as close as most listeners can get to hearing the poem in the original. Merrill's cadence is wonderful; he has a visceral understanding of how these lines are shaped for the ear, and he delivers them faithfully, with enthusiasm and love. He shifts tones occasionally to differentiate individual speakers but, for the most part, allows Homer's dominant voice to carry listeners on this mythic journey. G.T.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine


Urgent, poetically earthy, and extremely listenable, BBC Radio's full-cast dramatization of Odysseus's treacherous ten-year journey home to his wife and son is outstanding audio theater. Working from a specially commissioned adaptation by award-winning British poet Simon Armitage, the cast makes the gods sound all too human, the humans sound fully human, and the motivations of all the characters sound clear and credible. Poseidon, the god of the sea, seeks revenge for Odysseus's mutilation of his son, the Cyclops. Athena and her father, Zeus, play a high-stakes game with human pawns. And, as reflected in the soulful performances of Tim McInnerny and Amanda Redman, the returning soldier Odysseus and his wife miss each other terribly as he makes his way home from war. Presented as a fast-paced fantasy, the blind poet's tale remains an unsurpassed set piece of the Western World's age-old storytelling tradition. B.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2009 Audies Finalist (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine