The Robert Fagles Translation (1996)

The man of twists and turns.

The Odyssey is a thriller at heart, and its power is in the forward drive.

You think an epic should feel epic: big, fast, and built for reading aloud.

What it keeps and what it changes

Keeps: the full poem and all of Homer’s momentum. This is the version built to be read aloud.
Changes: the register: contemporary verse that favors speed and drama over word-for-word fidelity.

Whose story is it?

Odysseus’s, front and center. The hero’s journey played straight.

Who's here

How each character in this version compares across the whole catalog:

How much time does it ask?

≈12 hrs to read; Ian McKellen’s audiobook runs about 13.

“The man of twists and turns,” as his famous opening line has it.

Where to find it

Buy the paperback — Bookshop.org →

Other ways to get it: Paperback — Amazon ↗ · Kindle — Amazon ↗

Borrow it free: Borrow on Libby ↗ · Find at your library — WorldCat ↗

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More ways home: The Emily Wilson Translation (2017) · The Robert Fitzgerald Translation (1961) · The Richmond Lattimore Translation (1965)

Compare on one axis: How much of the gods do you actually get? (present, as written)