Description

By (author) Homer; Translated by Wilson, Emily

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The greatest literary landmark of antiquity masterfully rendered by the most celebrated translator of our time

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When Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017—revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that was “fresh, unpretentious and lean” (Madeline Miller, The Washington Post)—critics lauded it as “a revelation” (Susan Chira, The New York Times) and “a cultural landmark” (Charlotte Higgins, Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of Homer’s other great epic—the most revered war poem of all time.The Iliad roars with the clamour of arms, the bellowing boasts of victors, the fury and grief of loss and the anguished cries of dying men. It sings, too, of the sublime magnitude of the world—the fierce beauty of nature and the gods’ grand schemes beyond the ken of mortals. In Wilson’s hands, this thrilling, magical and often horrifying tale now gallops at a pace befitting its legendary battle scenes, in crisp but resonant language that evokes the poem’s deep pathos and reveals palpably real, even “complicated,” characters—both human and divine.The culmination of a decade of intense engagement with antiquity’s most surpassingly beautiful and emotionally complex poetry, Wilson’s Iliad now gives us a complete Homer for our generation.Specially bound paperback edition, with deckle-edging (rough-cut) pages and French flaps.

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“Wilson’s translation runs as swift as a bloody river, teems with the clattering sounds of war, bursts with the warriors’ hunger for battle”

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“Superb… [a] beautiful, fluent, memorable translation”

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“Seduce[s] with its crystalline clarity, elegance, sensuality, sometimes breathless pace and above all emotional clout.”

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“A triumphant new translation of the Iliad… It”s a poem you read with your heart in your throat.”

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“Wilson’s Iliad is clear and brisk, its iambic pentameter a zone of enchantment”

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“A propulsive road… an excellent translation”

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“Sing, goddess, of the skill of Emily [Wilson].”

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“Vitally urgent”

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“For the Greeks, Homer was the universal poet. He was likened to the ocean, circling the world, from which all cultural rivers flowed… Two thousand years later, those rivers still flow. Wilson can take much pride in her successful contribution to this mighty stream”

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“Emily Wilson’s superb rendering of the Greek epic resounds with Miltonic echoes”

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“Emily Wilson”s translation of the “Iliad” brings Homer”s great war story to rousing new life….propulsive….buoyant and expressive.”

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“In Wilson”s hands, the poem sings with the clash of bronze, the thundering of hooves, the savage holler of war-cries. Her use of iambic pentameter imbues it with irresistible pace and rhythm. It flows like music – exhilarating, tragic, beautiful and stirring”

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“Wilson is at her best when writing of the battlefield. As others have noted, she has a knack for the consonantal sounds of warfare… Wilson’s Iliad is always to the point.”

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“Wilson”s translation is vivid, lucid, pacy… For those yet to encounter this violent, charming, disturbing, beautiful poem, now is the time.”

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“Excellent… [Wilson] achieves a fluid and consistent vision.”

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“We should be grateful for Emily Wilson”s luminous new translation of the Iliad… Wilson”s edition should be compulsory reading for every statesperson and politician—espec