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Sign up todayOdysseus
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Learn moreIn this highly unusual and entertaining book, acclaimed classicist Charles Beye imagines a biography of the fictional Bronze Age hero and puts his unique spin on Odysseus’ strange and adventuresome existence. With wit and insight, Beye portrays the character’s life, beginning as a young prince, as warrior and hero of the war with Troy, as wanderer trying to get home, as lover, and finally as king of his home, Ithaca. But Beye does more than just describe Odysseus’ life. He delves into the psychological complexities of this enigmatic individual and examines his motives and character.
Beye’s account reads like a modern novel, filled with fascinating analogies and references to our own era. With a distinct humor and wisdom, the author casts new light on one of the great figures of the Western imagination.
Charles Rowan Beye is distinguished professor emeritus of classics at the City University of New York and has taught at Boston University, Stanford University, and Yale University. The author of numerous books and articles about the classics, particularly Homer and epic poetry, he divides his time between Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York City.
Mark Bramhall has won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration, more than thirty AudioFile Earphones Awards, and has repeatedly been named by AudioFile magazine and Publishers Weekly among their “Best Voices of the Year.” He is also an award-winning actor whose acting credits include off-Broadway, regional, and many Los Angeles venues as well as television, animation, and feature films. He has taught and directed at the American Academy of Dramatic Art.
Reviews
“Beye rounds out our picture of this complex and multifaceted man…by his insights into Bronze Age customs, mores, beliefs and values, and by his obvious and infectious enthusiasm for Odysseus, that mortal, deeply human man immortalized by literature.”
“A coherent and entertaining arc…encompassiong all of the fictional hero’s military adventures and sexual exploits.”
“Beye portrays Odysseus as humble yet ‘arrogant in his assumption of his own worth,’ cunning, wise, athletic and courageous, gregarious and sensual, concluding that Odysseus provided an exceptional role model to males in the ancient world.”
“Beye carefully constructs Odysseus as a Bronze Age fellow whose literal belief in gods obliges us to accept them as he did…The resulting portrait is far less a display of cleverness than…a deeper understanding of an old acquaintance…dazzling.”
“A true labor of love, reflecting a lifetime of study, this is recommended for all public libraries.”
“Lively, informative, and great fun: the perfect introduction to Odysseus and the society that shaped his exploits.”
“Revisited in this biography—by turns conversational and eloquent, racy and reflective—the hero emerges in all his traditional vigor, equipped with the myths and mores of antiquity while voyaging into our own modern world.”
“Reader Mark Bramhall nails this performance. When there’s storytelling, he commands the story enthrallingly…his transitions are even more remarkable.”
“As an audiobook, Odysseus: A Life literally and symbolically conjures the oral tradition of the works that inspired it. It’s a ripping good yarn…A gutsy and entertaining read by first-timer Mark Bramhall. He adroitly navigates the names of the mythical heroes, parses Beye’s fatally digressive prose, and even allows himself to sound so involved in what he’s reading that his excitement becomes contagious.”
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