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The Odyssey cover art

The Odyssey

By: Homer,Robert Fagles - translator
Narrated by: Ian McKellen
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Summary

The Odyssey is literature's grandest evocation of every man's journey through life. In the myths and legends that are retold here, the energy and poetry of Homer's original is captured in a bold, contemporary idiom, giving us an edition of The Odyssey that is a joy to listen to, worth savoring and treasuring for its sheer lyrical mastery. 

This audiobook is sure to delight both the classicist and the general listener and to captivate a new generation of Homer's students. 

(P) and ©1996 Penguin Books USA Inc.

Critic reviews

"To re-create a world where everything is living...is very nearly as difficult as to create it. Fagles does this with triumphant assurance; every arrowhead flashes lightning, every bush burns; Homer is with us." (James Dickey)
"It's a deeply satisfying experience to listen to McKellen's subtle, resonant voice weave the story. Cherish the images as the web of this great tale is woven before the eyes of the mind." (AudioFile)

What listeners say about The Odyssey

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  • 26-07-16

Beautifully translated & read; poor sound quality

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This is a recent, wonderful and acclaimed translation and it is beautifully read to boot. These outstanding qualities count for little as the sound quality is so poor that at times one gives up listening out of sheer frustration. The narrative is so muffled that at times it is indistinct and the narrative flow is lost. A real disappointment, not because of a poor text or bad reader, but because of a careless or indifferent presentation. I have tried listening to both the normal and the enhanced downloads and both suffer equally. Someone at Audible needs to look at this as I cannot believe the original would have been released with these obvious faults.

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33 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great translation, great narrator, disappointing recording

Homer, Fagles, and McKellen get all the laurels.

Penguin should burn in Hades for almost spoiling them: the great introduction was not included; the tracks don't match the original chapters (books), which makes navigating back and forward almost impossible; and the sound mixing makes McKellen sound as if he was now recording in the kitchen, then in the bathroom, later with a cold.

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22 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Strange Chapters

This book is an excellent reading of the Odyssey. The only qualm I have with it is that the chapters do not correlate to the book numbers; as an example, book 5 starts in the middle of chapter 4, which can be somewhat confusing when trying to gauge where in the story you are. Other than that it was great!

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A world class performance with terrible production

Sir Ian McKellen's performance of this classic translation is gripping, which is why it is a real shame that it has been so shoddily recorded/produced. Persistent pre-echos, chattering in the background, and a really baffling couple of chapters towards the middle that are pitched down so much you could mistake McKellen for Barry White, severely hamper what otherwise would be an incredible audio book.
There are parts that are unlistenable and parts where you won't be able to stop listening. All that said, I couldn't recommend this reading even for all it's obvious merits when I'm sure there are other great readings of this story not marred by a lazy or incompetent production team.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

chapter 5 sound levels 👎 and....

Ian McKellen is the perfect voice for telling stories, and the book itself is incredible, nearly 3000 years old and written so beautifully..... but chapter 5 sound levels are not good, quiet and muffled..... also even worse I've just noticed in chapter 6 in between Ian reading you can hear the faint voice of somebody else talking, come on Audible this is not acceptable!

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The greatest story ever written!

A timeless masterpiece superbly written and brilliantly narrated. Some issues with the sound quality but didn't diminish the enjoyment.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

There is no sound

Something is wrong with this audiobook there's no sound caming out when I play it

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Well read but with some audio problems.

McKellen is excellent. The epic itself is excellent. Audio issues throughout, such as audible playback chatter (guess the recording booth wasn't soundproof).

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful version of Homer

Thoroughly enjoyed this bewitching and beautifully narrated tale. I was transported to ancient Greece and enthralled from start to finish

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

an interesting but long and hard listen

I did enjoy it but felt it had become a chore by the end as it is very drawn out and repetitive (in a poetic way) as time went on. can be hard to listen to and required concentration but you Will learn about Greek mythology.

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1 person found this helpful