The Iliad

the best of the lot

i had tried to listen to other versions of this, many being too mono tone and boring and it had put me off till i started this one and it was brought more to life. it is well read and draws you in to an epic story that at times you just want to keep listening.

19 people found this helpful

Brilliant!

What made the experience of listening to The Iliad the most enjoyable?

I've read several versions of the Iliad, but I really enjoyed this audiobook version. Anton Lesser's performance in particular really brings the book to life, which made it all the more enjoyable.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Hector would be my favourite character as the Greek heroes tend to be pillocks!

Have you listened to any of Anton Lesser’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I've not had any other books read by Anton Lesser, but I intend to as I was very impressed with his performance.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The most moving moment for me would have to be Priam's supplication of Achilles. After his son Hector is killed and dragged back to the Achaean ships to be fed to dogs, Priam goes to his son's killer to beg for his body. The dignity of Priam is brought into sharp relief in this scene as he sits at Achilles' feet and begs for his son's body.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who thinks this is anything like that dreadful film with Brad Pitt is mistaken. The Iliad is a wonderful story that was unfortunately butchered in the film Troy.

12 people found this helpful

Very good for revision

Really good, very useful for revision even though it wasn't the right translation! Highly recommend!!!

4 people found this helpful

Child's Play

1st off - The narrator was excellent, no issues with him.

The issue I had actually was with the story. If I read this book on it's own without the mystic, celebrity and academic awe awarded to 'The Illiad' i would have stopped 2/5th of the way through. Wish I had. The book is basically about

1. Men talking of going to war and the glory of it
2. Men talking about where and how they would fight, berating their opponents or marvelling at he's physique in equal measure.
3. Man patting each other on the back with a 'Great fight old chap' once the tussle was done, assuming said chap - or they - were still breathing afterwards.

Mix in a bunch of random god's doing the usual shagging and slaying the odd thousand humans or giving - then taking power from the odd human, and you have the Illiad in a nut shell. -_-. Think i'll pass on Odysseus.

3 people found this helpful

Brilliant !!!

Fantastic performance, wonderful story telling. Really enjoyed it from start to finish. Highly recommend it 👏👏👏👏👏👏

3 people found this helpful

A good listen

The narration and writing of this ancient story is a good and reasonably-easy listen. The old tales are the best, but it's not often that they can be 'read' and digested.

2 people found this helpful

Epic poem made easy and entertaining to listen to

Anton Lesser is a wonderful narrator who really brings the story to life. His crisp delivery, sense of well timed drama, expressive voice and characterisation is superb. It made this so easy and enjoyable to listen to and brought archaic Greece to life. If you are looking for a version of the Iliad to listen to, you won't find better than this. Excellent!

1 person found this helpful

Marvelous narration of this glorious epic

Next ! Ulysses, I've got the bug, I like my audio to be eclectic, Marvelous company on a canal walk

1 person found this helpful

Legendary

This story is amazing, a tale of heroes and god's, the Iliad is a timeless Greek legend. Anton Lesser does ana amazing job of narrating it, at first I was skeptical of him but his narration grew on me and I wouldn't listen to it any other way now.

1 person found this helpful

Excellent Narrator - poor translation

Anton Lesser is a narrator that everyone should listen to, however not even he can compensate for a mixed bag when it comes to the translation. I've grown up with many versions of Homer, from trad authentic to the more modern; this one never really makes up its mind. It's not bad, just not stunningly good - and with a glorious classical work, combined with Anton's timbre, it really should give the listener more.