The Odyssey

By: Homer, Allen Mandelbaum - translator

Narrated by: Derek Jacobi

Homer's masterpiece tells the story of Odysseus, the ideal Greek hero, as he travels home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, a journey of 10 years and countless thrilling adventures. Rich in Greek folklore and myth, featuring gods and goddesses, monsters and sorceresses, The Odyssey has enchanted listeners around the world for thousands of years.

Mandelbaum's robust, romantic, lyrical translation has an openness and immediacy unsurpassed by any other. Read aloud, it is a wonderful way to experience this enduring classic.

©1990 Allen Mandelbaum. (P)1996 HighBridge Company

Fascinating Classic Tale // Excellent reader

Though this is a prose translation (not the original poetry), it is an excellent listening experience. It flows beautifully and is full of imagery. Derek Jacobi's wonderful voice and expression is a major reason for the success of this audio book. I've long known the individual events in this adventure, but this is the first time I've heard the whole journey.
I'm sure I'll listen to this again and again over the years.

Like and dislike

I liked it because it was a good book
And I disliked it, because it only went up to chapter 8 and there’s 24 chapters in the book

The book skips, and chp.'s are numbered different

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

No, because this book skips and the ch. in the book is different than the audible book.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Not sure.

What does Derek Jacobi bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nice oration.

Did The Odyssey inspire you to do anything?

No.

Any additional comments?

The book needs to NOT skip around. The chapters in the book should be the same on audible.

Well described and define version

This book was so very wonderful! The characters were so defined by Derek Jacobi that I never became lost. I would most definitely want to listen to this version again.
A student of Highbury Tutorials

Brilliant, but incomplete

Derek Jacobi is one of the few people (James Earl Jones, Patrick Stewart, Gregory Peck) that I would pay just to hear them read the Manhattan phone book, and this is a wonderful performance. Allen Mandelbaum is, perhaps, my favorite translator. The story is one that I have read every year or two since I was seven (now 73). So listening to this should be a dream of heaven, and in a way, it is. My only reservation is that it’s an incomplete edited version, which makes it impossible to read simultaneously with the narration. A minor annoyance. It’s like having a meal at the Gourmet Room (Cincinnati) or Quince (San Francisco) but not able to get a glass of water. That said, it’s worth listening and reading separately.

Great Speaker, Bad Deliverance

I really liked the way that Derek Jacobi narrated this book, but what I didn’t like was how the audio skipped multiple pages at a time and picked up on a random paragraph. I also really don’t like how it’s separated into chapters and not books like it is on the actual hard copy.

A True Classic

This book has probably been on my "to-read" list since high school. I finally decided to read it when I acquired an audio version of it read by the incomparable Derek Jacobi. I obtained a physical copy of the same translation, and read along with the narration. It was a fabulous experience. The translation was by Allen Mandelbaum, and is extremely well done. I have read parts of several other translations, and to me, nothing comes close to this one because of the way Mandelbaum has tried to stay true to the poetic nature of the story. It is all set in Iambic Pentameter, just as the original was. I can only imagine how long it must have taken him to set it up so poetically, and yet stay true to the story of Odysseus and all his trials. The story is not hard to follow once you get used to the fact that the gods can work a lot of tricks. They can transform themselves or anyone into anything, or any other human being. It is quite a talent. But it makes for some fascinating situations. In the end, I was entertained by the story line, enchanted with the narrator, and in love with the poetry, not to mention in awe of the fabulous Homer, who wrote this story so many centuries ago. I am so happy that it has been preserved for all to enjoy today.

Simply perfect

Mandelbaum’s translation is totally underrated. His flawless iambic pentameter manages to be the most poetic of modern translations and yet is incredibly close to the original without fake “olden” vocabulary or contorted syntax. God knows how he got it right. Renowned Shakespearean actor Derek Jacobi’s reading, too, achieves a perfect balance of the dramatic and the poetic. If you can’t decide on an Odyssey to download, try this one!

Absolutely wonderful!

The story of Odysseus and his travels home from troy are amazing, I loved the story of him in battle with the seas. My favorite!

Doesn't use books, but chapters

Any additional comments?

The performance is great. I wish they had diivided the recordings into the original 'Books" rather than sections. I can't find where one book ends and another continues, which makes it frustrating to find the break to pick just one book.
That is the only reason why I scored it so low.