The Iliad

I would love to write like a blast of a sudden squall
whose strong five-beat rhythm can with light and thunder, churning
the dark page into a fury, and countless words
surge and toss on its pages, high-arched and white-capped,
and crash down onto the Internets in endless ranks:
just so did the translators charge in their ranks, each simile
packed close together.

I expected something more free-form from Stephen Mitchell, something hewing less closely to the original; I don't know why. What's here is spectacular: a disciplined, sustained march from the beginning to the tragic (and transcendent) end. It's one of the best verse translations of "The Iliad" I've ever read.

You may have heard that there are "parts missing." True, but don't let that put you off. The omitted passages, about 1000 lines altogether, are almost universally considered later additions: this amounts to the whole of Book 10 (and good riddance!) and several hundred other lines scattered here and there throughout the poem. Apart from the omitted book, the differences are invisible (at least to me). What remains is tight, with an almost crystalline precision, an economy of movement that results in stunning action sequences and wholly realized grace notes.

You may have also heard that Mitchell dispensed with the heroic epithets that make up so much of the texture of Homer. Maybe some; maybe there aren't as many as in some other translations; but Athena, in Mitchell's rendering, is still grey-eyed; Apollo is still he "who shoots from afar"; and plenty of Trojans and Achaeans alike are "breakers of men" and "tamers of horses." This is in no respect a prosed-down or dumbed-down translation. It's the genuine article.

Alfred Molina gives a spirited reading, softer and slower in some places, bursting into vibrant energy, trembling with anger, in the furious dialogue and the shock of battle. Mitchell is reported to be working on a companion version of "The Odyssey." I hope he is: and I hope, when he's done, that he gets Molina back to read it.

Truly outstanding interpretation and performance of the "ILIAD"! Alfred Molina makes this classic, the oldest in Western culture, really come to life and leave the classroom or private study behind. This is a controversial new translation by Prof. Stephen Mitchell and I did not know what to expect. I've read most of the other Homeric translations, even those that nobody bothers to read anymore -- Alexander Pope, Lord Derby, anyone? And yes, I've read the originals, too. When one gets over losing some of one's favorite lines, the action runs off like a galloping horse. I was totally caught up and involved in this production. Mr. Molina turns in a masculine yet nuanced narration, taking the parts of the different speakers in the story with believable effect. One of the most exciting, easily understood ILIADs ever.

The last time I experienced the Iliad was when I had to read it as a freshman in high school. It was interesting to return to it with a more adult perspective, and to appreciate Homer's poetic imagery; the ancient ideals of heroic conduct; the timeless tragedy of war and human pride; and the way the ancient mind saw gods as capricious meddlers in human affairs, reaching down to bestir or chill the warrior's heart, or to guide a weapon towards or away from its target. To what extent Homer's audience really believed in the gods of his tale, or recognized them as dramatizations, is unclear to me. Yet, the genius of his story is that the audience can see it both ways. For generations of listeners, this tale must have stood like a Colossus with one foot in the real, solid world and one foot in the mists of myth.

Mitchell's translation aims to capture the way the Iliad was meant to be told: read aloud with feeling. He does so by stripping away a lot of the archaic phrasing and epithets that I remember from high school, leaving behind verse that's simple, tight, dynamic, and speaks directly to modern listeners. Some readers, of course, will be offended by his presumptuousness at "editing" a classic, but others will appreciate his efforts to make the passions of the story more accessible. A good litmus test is the scene where a soldier admonishes Paris as a "sissy" -- do you read that as a coarse, stinging insult (as was intended by the speaker), or a flagrant anachronism? (Most of the language isn't so "modern", but that was a more noticeable example.)

If you can roll with the "spirit of the work" interpretation, then Alfred Molina's masculine but sensitive audiobook performance is a great fit, capturing the frantic motion of combat, the smoldering resentment of Achilles, the feckless golden-boy attitude of Paris, and the anguish of Priam. No longer the dusty archetypes I remember from English class, the characters now come to life as human and flawed.

Absolutely! Alfred Molina is every bit as good as a narrator as he is an actor. His talent helps add to the power of the Iliad.

Absolutely masterful. I've always appreciated him and do so even more having heard his reading skill. He is melodious, powerful, and sensitive to every aspect of this epic novel.

While Mitchell's translation and the variation of the Illiad it is based on are rather controversial, it is surely a wonderful thing to listen to. The great actor, Alfred Molina, does a splendid job. A true pleasure to listen to. Mitchell's translation in contemporary English makes the text especially alive.

The Iliad is awesome, but takes getting used to. I am giving it five starts, but I could see how some people might not like it. I loved it. You have to be ready to enter into the weird, poetic, pagan and violent world of the bronze age greeks. You can't expect a modern book from it. If you are up for poetry and imagery this is the book for you. Like a fleet footed gazelle when it springs up the side of a rock covered hill in the early morning and Zeus that all powerful Father of gods and men fills it with strength and speed as it races itself to the top to catch a glimpse the rising sun. Just so did my fingers flit over the keys yearning toward the submit button as I wrote this review.

From Homer Yes... Stephen Mitchell ....no...

I love the Illiad, What turns me of is this book is 1/3 commentary, and the remaining 2/3's appears to be only part of the full Iliad (even taking account of the 'extra' parts).

Good reader.... like

Yep all of the above

Homer-Like
This book- dislike not fully the Iliad. Just talking and bits and pieces...Baby Food? don't know..

The music in the wording was enjoyable. As soon as I finished, I had to go immediately to the Odyssey.

I learned what Homer said and not what Hollywood’s distortions

Achilles

It was exhilarating and heightened my imagination. I’m eager to find additional classics from the period.

It is kind of fun to revisit all the books I should have read in school.

maybe I was distracted, but I've listened to the first couple of chapters and I don't know what the heck is going on or what it's about

Yes, I will give this a second chance and re-listen from the start.

I don't know if it's the narrator or that the book is boring.

Not yet.

I listen to a lot of books while driving but if I am lost after the first 1/2 hour or so it's really tough to keep going or start over.