Probably not the right sub to ask in but r/books sent me here, so go yell at them, not me.
I have memories as a kid of hearing a child-safe retelling of ‘The Odyssey’, and honestly apart from parodies and references, it was my only real exposure to that story, and I kinda want to see the original in all it’s glory. The problem is… I’m ***not*** a poetry guy, I’ve tried, I just cannot get into it. What I want to know is, are there any good *non*\-poetry versions of ‘The Odyssey’ that are worth reading? Not just a 1:1 translation from poetry to prose, I’m talking a standard narrative with an actual plot.
Anyone able to help? Thanks in advance.
by twofacetoo
1 Comment
**Glyn Iliffe** wrote The Adventures of Odysseus series, which is historical military adventure fiction focused on Odysseus, from the Trojan War through to the return home, starting with _King of Ithaca_ (Odyssey-equivalent portion starts with book #4, _The Voyage of Odysseus_). I’ve read a few volumes of this and it’s pretty decent, and publisher Head of Zeus makes the ebook borrowable in some common library digital services.
Italian author **Valerio Massimo Manfredi**, who’s an historian and archaeologist in addition to being a bestselling novelist, wrote an historical fiction duology about Odysseus, available in English translation from Pan Macmillan. _Odysseus: The Oath_ covers early life through Trojan War, _Odysseus: The Return_, covers The Odyssey.
There don’t seem to be that many straightforward historical prose retellings of just the Odyssey itself (the Iliad is much more popular for that).
Hope this helps!