With the holidays approaching, many seek relaxation and escape through books. Stephen Fry's retelling of Homer's Odyssey offers a breezy and accessible way to explore this classic tale. Fry's colloquial language and contemporary explanations make the epic poem easy to digest for first-time readers, even those intimidated by its length and ancient Greek origins.
The mad dash of December is almost over and we’re all racing toward the finish line with a million things on our mind. But once the holidays arrive in late December, there can be nothing but relaxation. Many of us will lock ourselves indoors while others will soak up a tan on the beach, but what we all have in common is that there will be a book in hand – and what better way to massage the mind than by cracking open a familiar favourite or cosy classic.
Stephen Fry satisfies the desire to explore new horizons and the temptation to flick through something grand yet breezy with his retelling ofEven if you think you don’t, we all do, in fact, know the bare bones of the story of Odysseus’ perilous journey home after the Trojan War. It all started with that elusive figure Homer and the composition of 12,109 lines of hexameter verse from which we’re still drawing inspiration , and can find the lineage to of art and song all around.
Fry’s fourth book on the Greek myths is a little preliminary, a little unpoetic for those already deeply into the classics. Throughout his, urging you to delve deeper into the labyrinth of mythology. But at the same time, he resists tempting readers with, in my opinion, grander recommendations such as the 1959 filmed play of Euripides’The Iliad
that bathes you in poetry: “Rat, / pearl, / onion, / honey: / these colours came before the sun / lifted above the ocean / bringing light / alike to mortals and immortals”.. The humour is light, and the story compels you through each turn of disaster and thrilling plot to escape. Why not sail the Aegean Sea as a hero from the comfort of home?
Holiday Reads Mythology Stephen Fry Odyssey Homer Mythology Ancient Greece
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