Just put an order in with Amazon for a few books. Wanted to know if any readers have read any of these, and if so, what did you think?
- Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
by Robert Mckee
- The Iliad and The Odyssey
- The Aeneid
- All 7 Harry Potter books
- Innocents Aboard: New Fantasy Stories
- Storeys from the Old Hotel
- The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich
- The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich
I’ve read that translation of the Odyssey, and I really liked it. I read it for a mythology class, and I was one of the few in the class who actually liked the story, and I lay that all down at Fagles feet (everyone else was reading a penguin classic or something like it). The Illiad is on the pile for my summer reading, and when I finish it, then I can justify laying down money for the Aenid, which I waited patiently for two years to come out in paperback, and still haven’t managed to buy it.
I think with classics in other languages, enjoyment really does depend on the translator. I’ve read good and bad translations of the Inferno, of the Illiad, of the Odyssey, of Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. When I’m looking to read a something that I haven’t read before, I always ask around to find a recommended translation (another reason why I love being an English major: my friend and professors don’t find these questions odd).
So I’m a Fagles girl through and through, and would read pretty much anything he translates. I think he’s got a wonderful grasp of the Greek, and the ability to make it interesting in English, and still work in the form that it is. It’s not a direct translation, he does take liberties, but he never loses sight of what the story is about, and well, I absolutely love it. If only he’d translate some Ovid or something….
@Lisa: Thank you for the confirmation on the Fagles version. I’ve tried to read The Iliad and Odyssey a few times before, but they never really grabbed me. About a year ago someone (a stranger) turned me on to the Fagles translation. He was quite thrilled with it. (When I told him I’d buy it later, he insisted I should buy it then, and handed me a few dollars towards the purchase! I returned the money and promised him I would pick up a copy.) I read a bit of them and was very impressed with how easily they flowed. Same with the Aeneid.
Can you suggest any good translations of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?