The Odyssey Book 1 Review

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 I'm taking on reading the Odyssey, with help from a YouTuber who has summaries of each book. I'm starting with Book 1 and slowly working through it. I was inspired by Epic the Musical. Let's get into it. 

Courtesy of lookandlearn.com
Telemachus and Mentes

The first thing I did was listen to a summary of book 1. I'd suggest doing the same. It helps you know what's going on in plain English. I put the video I watched here. In case it doesn't actually let you watch it from here, look up "MoAn Inc. The Odyssey" and find her playlist for the summaries.


Then, I dove into the poetry. Once you know the summary, it is easier than you think. I would highly suggest watching the video above before reading it. I did get lost at a few spots. If I hadn't known the summary, I'd be confused. 

My Review

I'm reviewing this on two things: readability and the story. Just like any older text, you do have to get used to the poetry. It was meant to be performed. Maybe you can listen to it and read along, or read it out loud to yourself. I'd suggest annotating your copy at the points you got confused, writing the note of what happened for your future self. I'm using clear sticky notes. 

Readability is a 4.5 stars out of 5 stars. Why? Because some of the poetry does tend to lose you. I could get the general vibe of what was happening with the help of a classics expert (the video above). Long story short, it isn't that hard to get the vibe of what happened. 

The story itself is engaging. Athena/Minerva has come up with a plan to get Odysseus/Ulysses home. Poseidon/Neptune has beef with our Ulysses because he hurt his favorite Cylops child. Athena/Minerva is telling Telemachus (son of Ulysses) what to do in the meantime. She tells him to man up and get rid of the suitors, more or less. Five stars for storyline. 


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Morrow is released! This novella is the story of two women writing a family history for the Morrow family. They find a nasty secret while researching. Will they survive their internship? 

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