wednesday books

[landofnowhere]

Catching up on the last month's reading, so this will be some quick takes.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, art by Tove Jansson. Christmas present. Alice is still in Wonderland, and I'd seen Tove Jansson's illustrations before, but good to reread and re-look at. Maybe NYRB classics can do The Hunting of the Snark with Jansson's illustrations next? (Though it looks like there's already an edition of that in print. And now I'm sad that she never illustrated Through the Looking Glass.)

The Iliad, Homer, Emily Wilson. I'm glad to have actually read this in its entirety, though I read a large portion of it the night before the e-book was due to be returned, so maybe haven't fully processed it. Some sections felt like excessive action scenes, but things really picked up and the language in the translation felt lyrical after Achilles learns of Patroclus's death. Things I was not expecting included the incredibly detailed description of Achilles's new shield (srsly, can I just hang out with Hephaestus and his robots in the workshop?) and the detailed blow-by-blow of what went down in Patroclus's funeral games.

King John, Shakespeare. Readaloud (but I was sick and had a bad sore throat, so I was mostly just listening). Second time I've done this play, on the one hand it has some really good bits, particularly act 4, but also it is just structurally kind of weird. It also seems like the sort of play that would benefit from a director's interpretation rather than just a cold reading. Also, despite having done the play before I was wondering halfway through "wait, who's going to succeed King John?", and kept wondering it until suddenly his son was introduced out of nowhere for the final scenes (admittedly Henry was 9 when his father died, though the play ages him up).

Oathbringer, Brandon Sanderson. I have made it to the exciting climax! I will probably just get back to reading this. :-D

Comments

[greenwoodside]

I still haven't read The Iliad. Unfortunate, because I genuinely want to – it's not on my fatal Should Read _{mutter some day when I'm retired or after my funeral mutter mutter} List.

The shield of Achilles! That reminds me of the Auden poem.

I saw the 2015 Globe Theatre production of King John – I remember it feeling very uneven, but fun. Alex Waldman stole the show with his scenes as the Bastard.

[landofnowhere]

I didn't know the Auden poem -- thanks! It's very Auden.

(Even if the line "that girls are raped" hits wrong for me when the Iliad is absolutely a poem where women are treated as property.)

[lunabee34]

I get very bored with the endless battle scenes and declarations of everybody's lineage in The Iliad, but I really like Wilson's translation. I much prefer The Odyssey because so much more happens; it feels much more like a proper narrative. Even if Odysseus is The Worst and a total ass.

[landofnowhere]

I'm much more familiar with the Odyssey (I read the translation on Project Gutenberg as a teenager), and agree it holds together better story-wise. I should also try it in Wilson's translation sometime!

[abangaku]

Thank you for the information that Emily Wilson has translated the Iliad! Now I’m thinking of giving it to a friend who read Wilson’s Odyssey translation and went on a real Odyssey kick (and whose birthday is soon). Also: thank you for the information that the Iliad has robots — that’s exciting!!

I also just looked up the Tove Jansson Alice illustrations and like them! I especially like the way she does Alice herself. I recently read a version of The Hunting of the Snark illustrated by Mahendra Singh. His illustrations may not be your cup of tea, but they’re absolutely mine.

[abangaku]

Okay, I give up trying to embed a link to Mahendra Singh’s Snark illustration blog. It’s at https://justtheplaceforasnark.blogspot.com.