Abridged versions or other options

As a committed reader of great literature, I've felt a growing unease at having never read any Homer. The Illiad and Odyssey are both on my to-read list. Problem is I really have very little interest in reading Homer other than to basically get it out of the way and move on.

IOW, I want to have knowledge of Homer but don't want to spend the time. Are there any abridged versions out there? Seems like blasphemy but in the time it would take to do a serious reading of these two works, I could enjoy a good handful of other great books.

Of course, I might end up enjoying Homer, who knows...

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Originally Posted by DougSlug

As a committed reader of great literature, I've felt a growing unease at having never read any Homer. The Illiad and Odyssey are both on my to-read list. Problem is I really have very little interest in reading Homer other than to basically get it out of the way and move on.

IOW, I want to have knowledge of Homer but don't want to spend the time. Are there any abridged versions out there? Seems like blasphemy but in the time it would take to do a serious reading of these two works, I could enjoy a good handful of other great books.

Of course, I might end up enjoying Homer, who knows...

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:) Do you really want to read Homer? If you want to read Homer, just read it, but I'd recommend reading the Odyssey first.
If you want to read stories from Homer, you'll find a lot of books on stories from the Odyssey, like this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ulysses-Amaz.../dp/0794504523
Yes, this one is a children's book, but it's a good introduction and you might find it in your local library.

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Originally Posted by Silas Thorne

:) Do you really want to read Homer? If you want to read Homer, just read it, but I'd recommend reading the Odyssey first.
If you want to read stories from Homer, you'll find a lot of books on stories from the Odyssey, like this one:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ulysses-Amaz.../dp/0794504523
Yes, this one is a children's book, but it's a good introduction and you might find it in your local library.

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Sorry, spaced out and forgot to respond. Fair question - I don't know what the hell I want to do WRT Homer. I do want to read both books but I look them over at the bookstore and fear a protracted struggle thru long and obscure stories (I tend not to go for ancient/epic works). Suppose I should just dive in and get on with it. Perhaps, as u say, Odyssey first, then a break from Homer, then Illiad later.

Thanks for the input.

I've never read Homer either and after seeing the movie Troy on tv last week, I went looking for Iliad and Odyssey. I downloaded the free classics versions and when I started reading Iliad, I got so confused over which god fathered who, or who stole whose wife, I just gave up.