The Iliad (Dover Thrift Editions: Literary Collections)

I love the vintage version of this classic something you can keep and read over and over again

Amazing book wonderful for Greek mythology lovers who want to read the classics!!

Classic

Regardless of translation, one needs to take some time to read the Iliad. The imagery is beautiful but the detailed descriptions of who is dying can get a bit much as those names don't mean too much to me. So if this is your foray into greek mythology, you really do need to be patient and look up a lot of people.

This is an excellent version of the Illiad. I can easily read and understand what's going on. If you don't know names and why they're significant before you read it, you might get a little lost, but once you figure it out you're fine. The size very much took me by surprise though! I though it was going to be a standard 4x6ish book, but it's more like 10x6 and flat. I ended up liking that format a lot better though. It's easier for me to read. It has a glossy cover and looks very nice. :)

This is not a story about gods and monsters. Despite what it seems, this is not a story about war and glory. This is a story about humans. Who raged and feared and cried. Homer uses this specific part of the trojan war to tell a larger story about the struggles of men against forces out of their control. This is the story of mankind and it is one full of sorrows.

I think you rating system needs revamping for the Classics. Describe the plot of this book... Really This isn't a bad translation though and the price is right.

What "new" thing can you really say about a 2500+ year old book? Not much really, but I'll try to convey my opinion in a few words. This has to be THE story about (classic) heroism, duty, and ancient warfare; it is also one of the mythology must-reads. I really wanted to read the verse version but I settled for this (decent) prose translation. From the last time I read this (high school, more than 20 years ago) I gotta say it was very good to remember this story. Diomed, Hector, Achilles and even Priam are very well written characters, who are interesting and seem to have real motivations, fears and emotions. Also, I didn't really remember the timeline of the story. It begins with the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, and ends with Hector's funeral. The fragility of my memory plus Hollywood taxed my perception of this in particular. The only drawbacks from the book I think is the astounding level of genealogic detail. Most of the time you will skim over long paragraphs of names that you really won't ever remember, let alone their forefather's names. That really cuts the flow of the book. Some people will perhaps love this, but I think it detracts from the (modern) readability of the book. I think I will re-read this again in 20 years, to see if my memory of the story has improved, or perhaps the 100th Hollywood interpretation of the story will have erased completely the fantastic "original" storyline. Re-read this girls and boys. You will enjoy it, provided you don't get bored in the genealogy trees.

Great

Instead of reviewing the content of this book like many had already, I shall review the physical features of the book. This copy is certainly cheap which gave me the reason to doubt if it would keep its form after reading it. Although I haven't finished the book, I can say that it is sturdy enough to not crumble as I read the book knowing its thickness. I have nothing negative to say about this copy and shall promote that anyone should buy this copy!

Strikes a balance between epic adventure and heroism and the soft underbelly of mortality. It's still relevant and touching. As a modern reader the cataloging did my head in at times.

Amazing book, filled with excitement. It is very intense, and filled with violence as well, so if that isn't your thing, then this is the wrong book. If you've seen the movie Troy, just know this differs in a lot of aspects for the better in my opinion. You'll also probably have to buy The Aenid and Odyssey, though you'll want to to get the full story.

Despite the ancient and archaic language this is a good account of the Greek-Trojan War.