The Odyssey
The Odyssey by Emily Wilsonby Emily Wilson
The most recommended of 8 poetry books
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.
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.
24 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Readable, plain, uncomplicated verse
“Wilson chose to prioritize making the translation uncomplicated and metrical”
Comment from 29 Jul 2026 in “An Uncomplicated Man” “Fagles narrated by Ian McKellen is peak.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Which Odyssey translation wins a blind reading test?” “very readable (e.g. Emily Wilson)”
Comment from 20 Jul 2026 in “Nolan's Odyssey – A technical analysis by a nitpicky Classics student” Different approach to faithfulness
“It is well worth the read to help understand that there is no one way to be "faithful" to the original.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Which Odyssey translation wins a blind reading test?” “Wilson had surely read Lattimore and Fagles and yet produced something genuinely different”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” Admired for thoughtful, inspiring work
“Rest assured that she's given more thought to every single word in that poem than almost anyone else alive.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “An Uncomplicated Man” “I love Wilson's work and take it as inspiration.”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Doesn't sound or feel like Homer
“I'd say Fagles is the closest.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Which Odyssey translation wins a blind reading test?” “It just doesn't sound anywhere near as good to my ear.”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” Dumbs down the language
“dumbs down a lot of the language to fit the translator’s worldview”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “An Uncomplicated Man” “It's dumbed down and artless.”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “An Uncomplicated Man” Takes liberties beyond the Greek
“he's also very liberal (poetically) and definitely did not limit himself to the same number of lines as Homer”
Comment from 7 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” “It also uses citadel rather than city, copying Lattimore.”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “The Claudyssey: A line-for-line translation of Homer's Odyssey by Claude Fable 5” Flattens nuance of Greek terms
“which feels to me like a bit of a travesty to translate polytropos into”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Which Odyssey translation wins a blind reading test?” “Grouping them all into slaves would definitely remove a lot of nuance.”
Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Emily Wilson to retranslate the Odyssey from scratch”
Other poetry books people recommend
The four most recommended other poetry books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Odysseyby Emily WilsonThis page | 21 | 3 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Gilgameshby Simon Armitage | 11 | 4 | 73% | 3 | — | — |
| The Iliadby Homer | 9 | 1 | 90% | 7 | — | — |
| The Claudysseyby Claude Fable 5 | 8 | 5 | 62% | 1 | — | — |
| Beowulf: A New Translationby Maria Dahvana Headley | 5 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
34 of the 36 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Grouping them all into slaves would definitely remove a lot of nuance.”
“Claude repeats man twice like Fagles, despite that not being in the Greek.”
“It also uses citadel rather than city, copying Lattimore.”
“I love Wilson's work and take it as inspiration.”
“Wilson had surely read Lattimore and Fagles and yet produced something genuinely different”
“he's also very liberal (poetically) and definitely did not limit himself to the same number of lines as Homer”
“It just doesn't sound anywhere near as good to my ear.”
“the marvellous translation by Peter Green”
“Wilson chose to prioritize making the translation uncomplicated and metrical”
“My test ranked first Daniel Mendelsohn”
“I suspect Wilson would do a lot better if the test was repeated with longer passages”
“I should read Fitzgerald if I ever do a reread”
“I landed on Rieu's translation”
“his translation of The Odyssey was very dry”
“I always used Butler's prose versions.”
“the McKellen audio version (which is the way the story was first told, right?) is delightful”
“It is well worth the read to help understand that there is no one way to be "faithful" to the original.”
“literally invented to fit a vibe”
“Lattimore was a literalist and his translation's weird for that but more fair to the Greek”
“which feels to me like a bit of a travesty to translate polytropos into”
“should sound ancient and poetic”
“Emily Wilson's great in some areas, terrible in others”
“Lattimore's good in some areas, terrible in others”
“Rest assured that she's given more thought to every single word in that poem than almost anyone else alive.”
“My results settled on Lattimore.”
“Lattimore is generally considered to be the most authentic translation.”
“It's dumbed down and artless.”
“Emily Wilson's version is great but doesn't feel like Homer at all”
“I'd say Fagles is the closest.”
“Lattimore's translation of Odyssey is beautiful.”
“Maybe Wilson if you like plainer writing.”
“Fagles narrated by Ian McKellen is peak.”
“dumbs down a lot of the language to fit the translator’s worldview”
“very readable (e.g. Emily Wilson)”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.