Welcome to Litsy!

Disappointed, because this is the last of my "Ten Before the End" reads but it's almost six hundred pages, I'm sketchy on several points from the last book, there's a "breath I hadn't known I was holding" on *page**one*, and a candidate for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award on page 16. I just can't for another 560 pages so am bailing at page 16. It probably gets better. (I'm perversely curious to see whether it can get worse, but not curious enough rn)

Bookclub pick that has long been on my TBR. ✅

Eminently readable translation, which is the true heroic feat of this epic.

#StorySpins #2026reads

@AllDebooks thanks for setting this up. This is a perfect challenge for me, I got into reading mythology by accident, it all started to see if I could read The Iliad. It was tough but I also enjoyed the challenge of reading it and was amazed by how entertaining a story that was around millennia ago could be entertaining. So, I'm looking forward to this challenge and seeing what everyone else is reading. ⬇️

It's hard to review a work with an oral tradition like The Iliad - an ancient epic poem that was once the domain of rhapsodes. My modern sensibilities considered it a slog at times, but the rage of Achilles & the ransom of Hektor still rang true after thousands of years. The glossary was very welcome & helpful with more opaque or contradictory passages, in addition to providing a good reference. It is the first epic, and it still feels that way.

It still needs a thumb and a good blocking, but the right-hand mitten is mostly done!

I‘m 75% through IN THE RUINS, too. This series is so stressful, due in large part to the characters who use their religion as an excuse to treat people abominably, but so good! I‘m excited to finally finish it after years of searching for this penultimate volume, which nobody gives away and the publisher only sells as an overpriced ebook. #audioknitting

👀

#classics #coffeeandabook

Like most classics I would imagine, sometimes the best way to adjust your mind to a story's setting & language is just to keep reading. An ancient work such as the Iliad demands it, I think. I'm starting to straighten a little when Homer describes Paris donning armor, or Pandaros preparing an arrow for flight. Glory and honor for sure, if it wasn't for the fickle, petty & meddling gods prolonging the conflict.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️the original hero‘s journey. I loved the beautiful language and seeing what lengths we go through to get back to home and those we love. Always loved mythology and nice to read the origin story.

The Harivamsha - the addendum to the Mahabharata! Finished it today. And after almost 4 years of consistent reading - this brings me to the close of the reading of the BORI Critical Edition of the Mahabharata!! What a massive series and I am so proud of myself. More important, I can‘t wait to re-read this series again, for more inspired learning! 💖

With my recent acquisition of the Lombardo translations of the Iliad and Odyssey, I now have six and seven copies of each, respectively (including graphic novels). None of them are prose, either, which is my sticking point.