I have read The Odyssey before (not sure when), from another translator. A few years ago, listened to the audiobook version of Wilson’s translation. Then I heard that Christopher Nolan’s movie version was in part based on and inspired by this translation, so I wanted to read it again before seeing the movie.
Very briefly, The Odyssey tells of the difficult journey home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca. After 10 years fighting the Trojan War, Odysseus and his men head toward home. Alas, Odysseus’ journey is beset by diversions, digressions, barriers, and interference, ultimately taking a further 10 years. When he finally arrives on his home island, he must fight those who have been circling his throne like vultures. Ultimately victorious, Odysseus enjoys a brief idyll with his family before setting out again to fulfill yet another quest.
This is an eminently readable and enjoyable version of the poem. I was helped by having heard the audiobook previously, so somewhat prepped for the rhythm of this version and “hearing” the reader’s voice in my head when reading it myself. Having read so many other books and stories derived from this material in recent years, it was interesting be refreshed on the original stories, especially of Circe, Penelope, and the Trojan Women, as well as of the stories that are not here (at least not entirely), including the famous horse. In navigating the poem through its extensive exposition and flashback, I became curious about how the movie would tell such an expansive and convoluted story, and portray several key but difficult elements, including rape, slavery, and violence, as well as the significant tragic flaws of the hero. I enjoyed this rereading, and am inspired now to read The Iliad.
In contrast, the film was a big disppointment, not least because of the atrocious dialogue, some terrible casting, and some pointless changes to the story. Some of the performances – including Penelope, Antinous, Meneleus, Helen, and Sinon (despite being dragged in from other sources) – were excellent, if minor (as in the poem, other than the lead, all parts are small), but most were so substantially changed from the source material as to be unrecognizable. Odysseus was not great, as the clunky dialogue and changes to the character made him less engaging, thus the story sags on his buff Bostonian shoulders. Two of the significant female characters – Calypso and Circe – were also changed and disappointing, with Circe appearing like the witch in Hansel and Gretel and Calypso serving more as a therapist than a lover; I suspect these changes were intended to maintain the purity of Odysseus as hero, as his extensive affairs with these women do make him more “complicated” (i.e, a jerk). Telemachus was okay, but also saddled with terrible dialogue – it was jarring to hear him whining to his “mom” all the time and costumes, looking like an extra from The Lord of the Rings much of the time. The entire visit to Hades scene – a crucial character turning point for Odysseus in the poem – was wasted, failing to show the interactions so essential to Odysseus development and recognition of his failures at Troy. In what seems an attempt to avoid casting someone as Achilles, there is instead an invented and convoluted connection between Sinon and Antinous intended to make the latter look cowardly and the former more virtuous (and worthy of screen time). Worse was the strange anachronistic self-awareness that Odysseus and Penelope had about the end of their civilization, referring at one point to the end of the Bronze Age (which they wouldn’t even have known they were in). Worst was the sound – apparently the score used several “ancient” Greek instruments, but the main characteristic was just LOUD. Suffice to say, I didn’t like it.
The Odyssey in the poem form is not for everyone. It takes perseverance in some sections to get through the repetition, and acceptance of the very different norms around woman and about slavery. But one can see where so many modern genres and stories have their origins here, from the journey or quest story, to the hero with a tragic flaw, to the rending of families and nations by the love and war. The Odyssey is as foundational to much of Western literature as the Bible, even if it wasn’t widely read or available in English until much more recent times. The mystery of its origins and its author(s) adds to its fascination, as do the variations that emerge through translations across the centuries and through the various languages.
Fate: staying on my shelf, as I’m sure I will return to it (unlike the movie, to which I will not).
I struggled with some categories for this – is the author Homer or Wilson? (I decided both.) is it published before 1939 or in 2018? (I took the older date.) are any of the deaths in war or circumstance murder? (I decided they’re not)
3 – published before 1939 (not this edition, obviously)
8 – female author
9 – made into a film
12 – a book I should read (again)
13 – set somewhere I’ve never been
21 – a translation
22 – poetry
25 – new author to me (the translator is)
32 – about art (there is extensive text about the poem, it’s origin and history, and the work of translation)
36 – part of a series (with The Iliad)
rclr 
Your review certainly nails the disappointments that trouble the movie. I endured the loud noise, violence and new millennium street-gang dialogue until the horse-dragging scene – at which point, I left the theatre.