The Odyssey:

Acho muito interessante como em a Ilíada as vitórias vinham do mais forte (Aquiles) e a destruição na guerra era constante, enquanto em a Odisseia foi o mais inteligente e estratégico (Odisseu) quem sobreviveu. Aqui, a paciência e a sobrevivência são o foco real, além de mostrar o quão solitária pode ser a jornada de retorno de uma pessoa, já que ele perde todos os seus companheiros pelo caminho.\n\n​Apesar de todos os monstros e situações fantasiosas que Odisseu enfrenta, também gosto bastante do destaque de Penélope. Esperando por vinte anos, ela resiste à pressão de dezenas de pretendentes com o truque genial de tecer um sudário de dia e desmanchar tudo à noite. Enquanto ela segura a barra em casa, Odisseu tenta a todo custo lutar contra os caprichos dos deuses para voltar para o lar, para a realidade. Quanto custa encontrar a si mesmo?\n\n​Uma das coisas mais fascinantes na figura do Odisseu é aquela de que ""quem ri por último, ri melhor"". Ele é a mente por trás do Cavalo de Troia e usa essa mesma lábia o livro todo. Seja quando engana o terrível Ciclope dizendo que seu nome era ""Ninguém"" — fazendo o monstro gritar que 'Ninguém' o estava atacando —, ou quando volta para sua própria ilha disfarçado de mendigo, sendo humilhado pelos inimigos enquanto pacientemente cria a armadilha final para retomar o trono. \n\nA cena com Argos me destruiu. Sou super sensível com cena de animais e achei o retorno tão esperado entre animal e dono emocionante e inesquecível. Me acabei de chorar.

Imagine an entire civilization of clout chasing sociopaths, The Odyssey in a nutshell.

I liked this a lot more than I did when I read it in school. That's probably unsurprising: even for bookworms (perhaps especially for bookworms?) school has a tendency to analyze the fun out of anything. My memories of this story were of it printed in far-too-tiny font on the front and back of sheets of paper we had to staple together and keep in our binders, of small portions read aloud (badly) in the stumbling tones of bored classmates, and of a story that meandered through a few weeks of study (or at least they felt like a few weeks--it's hard to say how long it actually was) and then got wrapped up very suddenly at the end by the teacher, who must have realized she'd extended the lesson too long and had to fit something else in. I think hearing it read aloud made a big difference. The translator (Emily Wilson) said in her note at the start that she'd tried hard to ensure it sounded good spoken, and it honestly showed. I found myself repeating small bits as the narrator spoke, and it felt like it flowed really well. I won't pretend to know enough about poetry to say more than I liked how it sounded and I was aware of the language and flow without them getting in the way, which is honestly what I want in most things. There was none of the feeling of un-wrangling the words and meaning I had when I first read this in school. I'll leave the deconstruction of the actual story to people better qualified than I--I'm sure it's been done to death, and I'm sure anyone reading this has at least a cursory understanding of the problems faced by Odyessus on his way home. I had forgotten how much time we spent with Odysseus' son Telemachus, and that for all the story is named after him, Odysseus isn't necessarily even the main character of parts. If, like me, you are wondering if you missed something when you read this in school, this is definitely worth picking up and listening to. The story holds up quite well, and for all I knew how it ended, I was listening fascinated throughout.