The Greatest Books of All Times Series: #24 The Odyssey

Jacke continues his analysis of "The 25 Greatest Books of All Time" by a special look at Homer's Odyssey, which comes in at #24. 

The story has endured over time and with each new translation it brings another generation of readers to this epic tale.

When I was in college we read Richmond Lattimore's translation of this work, and most recently, Daniel Mendelsohn's translation has been released. In Episode 720, Mendelsohn stops by the podcast to talk about The Odyssey. Here's snippet of their talk:

Jacke: Do you remember the 1st time you read The Odyssey.

Daniel: I actually do very vividly, because, I was, I think in about 9th grade, and my parents were having a cocktail party, and it just so happens that they were friends with the high school English teacher, and I was not yet in high school, but she was chatting me up at a certain point, because I snuck downstairs to see what was going on at the cocktail party and we were talking, and I was already a reader, and I was all, you know, already, very interested in mythology and ancient Greek history. And she said, Well, you need to read The Odyssey because it's the perfect thing for some kid like you to read, and I was a very good boy, and I ran to the library and got it out, and you know it rocked my world.

Jacke: Yeah. As a teacher yourself, you probably know the feeling when you put the right book in the right hands of the right person. How satisfying that can be.

Daniel: Yeah, absolutely.