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New York Times best seller and Whitebread Book of the Year, Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney's new translation of Beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. Heaney's performance reminds us that Beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read.
A new version of The Epic of Gilgamesh by Sebastian Lockwood. This is the story of Gilgamesh, King of Kings, who brought back knowledge from before the flood - who loved and lost his companion Enkidu and had to find out why we die. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written on clay tablets over 4,000 years ago, in what is today Baghdad Iraq - the Biblical Garden of Eden between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Lockwood gives a passionate reading from a text that faithfully follows the original.
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
Since it was first published more than 25 years ago, Robert Fitzgerald's prizewinning translation of Homer's battle epic has become a classic in its own right: a standard against which all other versions of The Iliad are compared. Fitzgerald's work is accessible, ironic, faithful, written in a swift vernacular blank verse that "makes Homer live as never before" ( Library Journal).
The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.
The great adventure story tells of Odysseus, a veteran of the Trojan War, who - through a landscape peopled with monsters, sea nymphs, evil enchantresses, and vengeful gods - makes his tortuous way home to his faithful wife, Penelope. Shipwrecked numerous times, faced with apparently insurmountable obstacles, offered the temptations of ease, comfort, and even immortality, Odysseus remains steadfast and determined. Themes of courage and perseverance, fidelity and fortitude.
New York Times best seller and Whitebread Book of the Year, Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney's new translation of Beowulf comes to life in this gripping audio. Heaney's performance reminds us that Beowulf, written near the turn of another millennium, was intended to be heard not read.
A new version of The Epic of Gilgamesh by Sebastian Lockwood. This is the story of Gilgamesh, King of Kings, who brought back knowledge from before the flood - who loved and lost his companion Enkidu and had to find out why we die. The Epic of Gilgamesh was written on clay tablets over 4,000 years ago, in what is today Baghdad Iraq - the Biblical Garden of Eden between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Lockwood gives a passionate reading from a text that faithfully follows the original.
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are unquestionably two of the greatest epic masterpieces in Western literature. Though more than 2,700 years old, their stories of brave heroics, capricious gods, and towering human emotions are vividly timeless. The Iliad can justly be called the world’s greatest war epic. The terrible and long-drawn-out siege of Troy remains one of the classic campaigns. The Odyssey chronicles the many trials and adventures Odysseus must pass through on his long journey home from the Trojan wars to his beloved wife.
Since it was first published more than 25 years ago, Robert Fitzgerald's prizewinning translation of Homer's battle epic has become a classic in its own right: a standard against which all other versions of The Iliad are compared. Fitzgerald's work is accessible, ironic, faithful, written in a swift vernacular blank verse that "makes Homer live as never before" ( Library Journal).
The publication of a new translation by Fagles is a literary event. His translations of both the Iliad and Odyssey have sold hundreds of thousands of copies and have become the standard translations of our era. Now, with this stunning modern verse translation, Fagles has reintroduced Virgil's Aeneid to a whole new generation, and completed the classical triptych at the heart of Western civilization.
The great adventure story tells of Odysseus, a veteran of the Trojan War, who - through a landscape peopled with monsters, sea nymphs, evil enchantresses, and vengeful gods - makes his tortuous way home to his faithful wife, Penelope. Shipwrecked numerous times, faced with apparently insurmountable obstacles, offered the temptations of ease, comfort, and even immortality, Odysseus remains steadfast and determined. Themes of courage and perseverance, fidelity and fortitude.
Originally written in Icelandic in the 13th century AD by an anonymous author, The Story of The Volsungs is a legendary saga based on Norse mythology. The epic describes the legendary history and heroic feats of several generations of mythic Viking families and derives from many sources, including preexisting Edda, or heroic poems, Norse legends, historical events, and orally transmitted folklore. The saga is imbued throughout with themes of power, jealousy, love, vengeance, and fear.
In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus describes the growth of the Persian Empire with force, authority, and style. Perhaps most famously, the book tells the heroic tale of the Greeks' resistance to the vast invading force assembled by Xerxes, king of Persia. Here are not only the great battles - Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis - but also penetrating human insight and a powerful sense of epic destiny at work.
The central core of the stories concerns a Persian king and his new bride. The king has a brother who is a vizier in faraway Samarcand, and he invites him to come to the palace for a visit. Just before his departure, the vizier is shocked to discover his wife's infidelity. Enraged, he kills her. Full of pain and grief, the vizier continues on to the court of his brother, the king. But, once arrived at his brother's palace, the vizier soon discovers the king's wife is also involved in an even more flagrant infidelity.
Noah Primeval is a speculative retelling of the beloved story of Noah for a new generation. In an ancient world submerged in darkness, fallen angels rule as gods, and breed giants and monsters. Mankind is enslaved to evil. Noah, a tribal leader, has been prophesied to bring an end to the rule of these "gods" and save humanity from coming destruction. But Noah's wife and son are captives of these dark forces.
Perhaps no other Biblical tale penetrates so deeply into the everyday travails of the common person as The Book of Job. It tells the story of a righteous man beset by torment and misfortune through no fault of his own. This parable of bad things happening to a good person addresses the eternal question of why we are here, and why we suffer. This translation is by Stephen Mitchell.
In The Oresteia, Aeschylus dramatizes the myth of the curse on the royal house of Argos. The action begins when King Agamemnon returns victorious from the Trojan War, only to be treacherously slain by his own wife. It ends with the trial of their son, Orestes, who slew his mother to avenge her treachery - a trial with the goddess Athena as judge, the god Apollo as defense attorney, and, as prosecutors, relentless avenging demons called The Furies.
The Metamorphoses by Publius Ovidius Naso (43 B.C. - A.D. 17) has, over the centuries, been the most popular and influential work from our classical tradition. This extraordinary collection of some 250 Greek and Roman myths and folk tales has always been a popular favorite, and has decisively shaped western art and literature from the moment it was completed in A.D. 8. The stories are particularly vivid when read by David Horovitch, in this new lively verse translation by Ian Johnston.
Mythology Trilogy - three audiobooks in one! Greek mythology, Norse mythology, and Egyptian mythology.
In 81 brief chapters, Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, provides advice that imparts balance and perspective, as well as a serene and generous spirit. It teaches us how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao: the basic principle of the universe.
A collection of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader and containing romance, tragedy, love, sex and honour.
In this enthralling retelling of India’s greatest epic - the Mahabharata, originally known as Jaya - Devdutt Pattanaik seamlessly weaves into a single narrative plots from the Sanskrit classic as well as its many folk and regional variants, including the Pandavani of Chattisgarh, Gondhal of Maharashtra, Terukkuttu of Tamil Nadu, and Yakshagana of Karnataka.
When American archaeologists discovered a collection of cuneiform tablets in Iraq in the late 19th century, they were confronted with a language and a people who were at the time only scarcely known to even the most knowledgeable scholars of ancient Mesopotamia: the Sumerians.
In the ancient city of Uruk, the tyrannical King Gilgamesh tramples citizens "like a wild bull". The gods send an untamed man named Enkidu to control the ruthless king, but after fighting, Enkidu and Gilgamesh become great friends and embark on a series of adventures. They kill fearsome creatures before Enkidu succumbs to disease, leaving Gilgamesh despondent and alone. Eventually, Gilgamesh moves forward, and his quest becomes a soul-searching journey of self-discovery.
Mitchell's treatment of this extraordinary work is the finest yet, surpassing previous versions in its preservation of the wisdom and beauty of the original.
"Stephen Mitchell's Gilgamesh is a wonderful version....This is certainly the best that I have seen in English." (Harold Bloom)
"Here is a flowing, unbroken version that reads as effortlessly as a novel....Vibrant, earnest, unfussibly accesible....The muscular eloquence and rousing simplicity of Mitchell's four-beat line effectively unleashes the grand vehemence of the epic's battle scenes." (The New York Times Book Review)
"Mitchell seeks language that is as swift and strong as the story itself. He conveys the evenhanded generosity of the original poet....This wonderful new version of the story of Gilgamesh shows how the story came to achieve literary immortality: not because it is a rare ancient artifact, but because reading it can make people in the here and now feel more completely alive." (Publishers Weekly)
This is a very good reading of the Epic, which I have read many times in various translations. But rather than say how wonderful the book is, which others have already done, there are some things that should be pointed out:
For some reason Audible called this a "children's" book, which is debatable. The sexuality is quite direct and graphic. However, my mother let me read another version of Gilgamesh as a child and its frankness was fine by her and me. It isn't outright pornography, but it is sexually blunt. In other words, some parents may find this book objectionable - others just honest. You decide.
Also, as far as sexuality goes, another reviewer mentioned how the redactor of this book implies a homoerotic relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu. The "translator" is actually not making this up: in the 12th tablet of the story, which is not part of this recording for boring academic reasons, the sexual nature of their friendship is explained without mixing words.
Another comment mentions that is book is not a real "translation", which is true. However, that is not without good reason. An actual word for word translation of the epic is unreadable - only compilations are useful to the general public. If you want to see what I mean, find a true translation at your library and count the number of missing lines and unclear words. It's like reading a book where you can only see every tenth word or so.
The essay at the end is hit or miss. The political messages (even the ones I happen to agree with) are out of place and preachy. But occasionally he is insightful. Either way, check this book out, as it's a pleasure to listen to.
213 of 217 people found this review helpful
"Gilgamesh" is the story of the king of Uruk and the wild-man, Enkidu, who fight and end up as friends. Gilgamesh and Enkidu go have several adventures, followed by Gilgamesh's solo search for immortality after Enkidu's death. You can think of it as a 4700-year-old "bromance."
The story is timeless, and is one of the oldest works of literature known. More poetry than prose, the story is an epic tale of heroes and adventure, friendship and loss. Written for an age where almost nobody was literate, it was meant to be recited, making it a great option for an audiobook.
Parental warning: there is some blatant sexual content (e.g. intimate body parts are mentioned by name, Ishtar tries very hard to seduce Gilgamesh) in this audiobook. I'm not sure the original Mesopotamian audience would have thought this would be a problem, but modern folk tend to hide such details from younger children.
[I am only reviewing the original story. I skipped the second half of the audiobook, a commentary written by the author/translator.]
16 of 17 people found this review helpful
Having been brought up on the classics, I’m not sure how I missed Gilgamesh. It was probably because my earliest education was of the Catholic variety and this would probably not be in most Catholic, let alone other Christian, stacks. So why read it now? Partially because it is so classic and I had not read it, but also, and perhaps mostly, it was a Stephen Mitchell translation. Mitchell can take the most arcane and make it understandable, the most seemingly simple and make it fresh and sophisticated for even the most intellectually-challenged among us.
The book is fraught with duality as is often a theme contained in other SM books. The book is about beauty and ugliness, strength and weakness, friends and enemies. The poetry of the narrative is quite beautiful and powerful in its own right but the essay of a critique that follows it is like icing on a cake: delicious. Great books can be read more than once and each time the reader will glean something entirely new or understand something at a deeper level. The essay adds a whole other dimension to the main piece that I certainly would not have appreciated had I not read it. And, given how short Gilgamesh is, it is certainly worth listening to again, this time with a whole new appreciation and understanding.
24 of 26 people found this review helpful
This is a wonderful combination of an excellent translation of this epic poem and the exceptional performance of a first class reader. Gilgamesh is the oldest known story in the world. Everyone who considers themselves to be educated should be familiar with it. But up until now, the translations available have been stilted and hard to read. This one captures the passion and intensity of the tale, and the performance makes this a first rate listen.
The essay explaining the work actually follows the reading of the poem, which lets the listener form their own impressions before being exposed to those of the author. An excellent idea, since one enters the tale without any preconceived interpretations.
Don't be afraid of this one. It's an exceptional work.
76 of 85 people found this review helpful
I enjoyed this selection as much as the other reviewers, or perhaps almost as much. However, I think it should be noted that the "author" (or perhaps "editor") calls this a "version" of Gilgamesh rather than a translation. He says in his essay that he does not know anything of the language in which our existing fragments of the Gilgamesh epic or the earlier Gilgamesh poems are written. Instead, he has taken existing English translations, laid them side by side, and written a new English epic based on existing translations. In the process, he has added details where he found the action a little flat or the transitions a little abrupt. It seems to me that what he has done is not unlike someone writing a screenplay based on a novel -- or perhaps the somewhat less common act of writing a novel based on a screen play, as with the Star Wars books.
In dramatic terms, the project succeeds; it is indeed a very powerful version. And its earthiness does have the effect of making one think that people in the ancient near east were very much like people today. However, the force of that observation was considerably diminished when I learned (at the end) how freely the author/editor had handled the text. In particular, the author/editor's essay draws some comparisons between one of Gilgamesh's adventures and recent U.S. policy in Iraq, and it's impossible for the reader to know whether those points of similarity were always there or whether they were put there by the essayist himself.
That doesn't sour me on the book -- I enjoyed it and I'm giving it four stars. But I think people should know that this is a little bit like reading Edith Hamilton's Mythology, which is a fine book but is not The Iliad.
58 of 65 people found this review helpful
I taught History and Humanities at the university-level for 27 years. I've read numerous translations of Gilgamesh, but this one is STUNNING! Brilliant translation/editing, perfect narration.
It "stopped me in my tracks." And the information at the end should be enough to appeal to anyone, no matter how much of a novice in the subject. THANK YOU!
27 of 30 people found this review helpful
Dude, this is the oldest story every. The first, how can you not read it. The actual story is only about two hours long and stars an anti-hero, is full of sex and violence and the search for the meaning of life.
The whole recording is four hours, because S.M. goes through the story almost line by line and explains it. I enjoyed the story and the detailed breakdown. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, so I like hearing what the smart people think.
As a former member of Recorded Books, I am very familiar with the voice of George Guidall. He is one of the best narrators around and is excellent for this recording.
19 of 21 people found this review helpful
fantastic narration, and you get to check one more classic off the endless list of things you should read with very little investment in time or money. I was surprised by how wrapped up in the story I became, given that I really only listened to it because it is "important." Much more fun than Beowolf or The Fairie Queen.
Customers should notice however that only half of the playing length is devoted to the actual story --the rest is an interpretive essay by the translator. It's quite a good essay --I, at least, found it helpful for appreciating a work originating in an ancient culture I know next to nothing about. At an hour and a half though, the essay might be off-putting for anyone who fears anything that reminds them of their University days.
25 of 28 people found this review helpful
I've loved Stephen Mitchell's take on the classics since I first read his translation of Rainer Maria Rilke's poetry, and most recently with his update of Homer's Iliad. The strength of Mitchell is that he approaches the text as a poet FIRST and a translator second (and sometimes actually skips the translator role completely). The closest I've come to this in other translators is the husband and wife team of Richard Pevear (poet) and Larissa Volokhonsky (translator) and their amazing translations of Dostoevsky, Tolstoy and Gogol.
With Gilgamesh, Mitchell doesn't really actually translate, but rather blends and updates. He takes other academic and previous translations (more than six plus other versions by the look of the bibliography) and squeezes, lifts and shapes them into a a new text, and then renews them into contemporary English and sets it all in a 'loose, nonaimbic, nonaliterative, tetrameter'.
His version is robust, manly, and shows that thousands of years before the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Bible there was poetry being written and myths being formed out of fertile Babylonian clay.
40 of 46 people found this review helpful
Having only read portions of this work in College I was impressed the power of the narrative in this version. I was running while listening and found parts strangely inspirational. However, sexual content came as a total surprize. While the influence of this work may be limited in our literature it certainly reveals the universal themes that cause humanking to create art. All this in a short 3 hour program, time well spent. The bonus lecture is very helpful. After listening I felt prepared to lecture on the epic myslef.
22 of 26 people found this review helpful