# The Odyssey by Emily Wilson

21 Hacker News commenters recommended The Odyssey by Emily Wilson and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as a readable, metrical verse translation that reads differently from Lattimore and Fagles. Critics say it drifts from Homer's sound and flattens the Greek's nuance.

## Why people recommend it

- Readable, plain, uncomplicated verse (3 comments): "Wilson chose to prioritize making the translation uncomplicated and metrical" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49099025)) "Fagles narrated by Ian McKellen is peak." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49082725)) "very readable (e.g. Emily Wilson)" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48976959))
- Different approach to faithfulness (2 comments): "It is well worth the read to help understand that there is no one way to be "faithful" to the original." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49085459)) "Wilson had surely read Lattimore and Fagles and yet produced something genuinely different" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49216379))
- Admired for thoughtful, inspiring work (2 comments): "Rest assured that she's given more thought to every single word in that poem than almost anyone else alive." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49083112)) "I love Wilson's work and take it as inspiration." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49216546))

## What people warn about

- Doesn't sound or feel like Homer (2 comments): "I'd say Fagles is the closest." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49082970)) "It just doesn't sound anywhere near as good to my ear." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49215910))
- Dumbs down the language (2 comments): "dumbs down a lot of the language to fit the translator’s worldview" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49080910)) "It's dumbed down and artless." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49083001))
- Takes liberties beyond the Greek (2 comments): "he's also very liberal (poetically) and definitely did not limit himself to the same number of lines as Homer" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49216072)) "It also uses citadel rather than city, copying Lattimore." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49219713))
- Flattens nuance of Greek terms (2 comments): "which feels to me like a bit of a travesty to translate polytropos into" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49083860)) "Grouping them all into slaves would definitely remove a lot of nuance." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49533016))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gilgamesh.md): 11 recommend
- [The Iliad by Homer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iliad.md): 9 recommend
- [The Claudyssey by Claude Fable 5](https://hackerapproved.com/p/claudyssey.md): 8 recommend
- [Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley](https://hackerapproved.com/p/beowulf.md): 5 recommend
- [Paradise Lost by John Milton](https://hackerapproved.com/p/paradise-lost.md): 3 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/039341793X?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780393417937) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "The Odyssey by Emily Wilson", https://hackerapproved.com/p/odyssey-translated/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).