I never read the Odyssey, though saw a few adaptations as a younger person. I did see the Christopher Nolan film though and definitely had mixed feelings.I really appreciated the storytelling techniques, the use of repetition and planting and pay off. But I also was sickened by the violence. Of course, violence is very common in modern films so in some ways it felt like a weird connection point between ancient Greece and modern America. I do want to read the poem, though, as you are probably the second or third person I've heard say it was a thrilling read and not boring.
Thank you, friend! It was so fun to post something that was a newborn baby, 24 hours old instead of years and years old with editing and revision layered and lacquered. I love how you said crunchy cole slaw! I keep thinking of that. :)
Food analogies are my favorite metaphors!!! Oh my goodness I keep laughing when I am making food thinking of us with our television show. LOL. Love you!
hello, abigail, i’m also reading the odyssey in preparation for nolan’s film. i loved the motif of hospitality and treating strangers well. but i’m also at war with the way justice is served in homer’s world. the killings of the female slaves is brutal. beautiful poem.
Exactly, Eugenia! I kept wrestling with that same pagan (often incomprehensible) sense of justice in the book. I look forward to seeing Nolan's interpretation of the material. Thank you for reading and restacking!
Your twenty year contrast is really beautiful to me in showing the way motherhood changes us. I recently reread old journals, pre-children, and I laughed at how small my heart seemed to be. I was also young! But I hadn’t realized how much my own experience of motherhood, and walking it alongside so many other women with stories of their own including infertility, expanded my heart. I could use much more!
I read 2/3 of The Odyssey in winter, need to finish. (Along with War and Peace, it’s on an audiobook hold for me right now, Substack has revealed my lack of fortitude in reading haha.)
Anyway, I did laugh at tying yourself to sheep. Thanks so much for giving these things to ponder.
Leah, I love how you say motherhood has expanded your heart: and not just your own motherhood but the enlargement of walking beside other women in their journeys. That is beautiful and resonates with me so much. I'm so grateful God keeps bringing us further up and further in. Thank you for reading and for taking the time to leave this kind comment. This poem was such a joy to write (I was chuckling to myself over that line about tying myself to sheep LOL), and it humbles me every time my words connect with another human being. What a gift. Blessings to you, my friend.
Thanks so much, Abigail! I have to say I felt the same about the injustice done to the serving women... I was glad Nolan left that part out, and let Odysseus agonize over the suffering he'd caused. My kids and I were reading Homer earlier this year before it was cool😂 first in graphic novel versions, then in the Fagles translations— Then the Aeneid too, so the Sinon character was of special interest to me in the movie. Since viewing, my oldest son and I have been having fun reviewing some source texts and comparing Nolan's plot changes. I think it's interesting, (though not necessarily wrong), to see how a director will modify source material to his own purposes... Though I still don't understand why they made a Calypso into a destitute older lady on a desert island...I would love to know the rationale for that one!
Evelyn, I love hearing that you read it out loud to your kids! I tried giving them little snippets here and there, but I didn't have the fortitude to include them on the entire journey this time. You inspire me! A graphic novel version is brilliant. I am going to borrow that tip from you. I totally agree that comparing a director's choices with the original is fascinating. I will definitely circle back once I have seen the movie and let you know my thoughts. Sounds like the direction Nolan took Calypso is very different from how I imagined things! Thank you for reading and leaving this thoughtful comment.
I love this, Abigail! I have reacted to stories much differently after becoming a mother as well. Certain tragedies are more bitter, almost physically painful for me now. This is a clever and captivating poem. As a side note, your problems with Odysseus are the very reason I'm grateful Nolan adapted the character and essentially Christianized him in many ways. I would prefer watching a morally conflicted Odysseus than the full fledged pagan version, though I recognize the creative liberties. What did you think of it?
Clara, I can't wait to see it! My older boys are traveling this week, so I took my younger ones to Spider Man. (They were disappointed by the lack of a true villain.) I will definitely circle back and let you know what I think when I finally see it. A conflicted Odysseus sounds complex and satisfying. As I read, I kept thinking how "Old Testament justice" sometimes gets a bad rap, but compared to the pagan morality depicted by Homer it is a compassionate and sane system of justice with guard rails and logic. I relate to how you described the way tragedies can be physically painful as a mother. It has all become so much more visceral and intimate. Sometimes I find myself tearing up while reading out loud to my kids because that sense of immediacy is so strong (finished Monster in the Hollows last night and was choking up so badly). Thank you for reading and taking the time to share your insights.
I never read the Odyssey, though saw a few adaptations as a younger person. I did see the Christopher Nolan film though and definitely had mixed feelings.I really appreciated the storytelling techniques, the use of repetition and planting and pay off. But I also was sickened by the violence. Of course, violence is very common in modern films so in some ways it felt like a weird connection point between ancient Greece and modern America. I do want to read the poem, though, as you are probably the second or third person I've heard say it was a thrilling read and not boring.
I cannot get over this poem. It is just so good. The rhythm pulls me forward, almost stumbling to keep up. My new favorite.
Thank you, friend! It was so fun to post something that was a newborn baby, 24 hours old instead of years and years old with editing and revision layered and lacquered. I love how you said crunchy cole slaw! I keep thinking of that. :)
😆 yes, me and my weird analogies! Well, coleslaw or not, it is fantastic and I look forward to more.🩷
Food analogies are my favorite metaphors!!! Oh my goodness I keep laughing when I am making food thinking of us with our television show. LOL. Love you!
Me too!!!! "If you think you're relaxed, you will be!" (Or something to that effect) Says us spilling our very non-alcoholic guava sparkling water.
hello, abigail, i’m also reading the odyssey in preparation for nolan’s film. i loved the motif of hospitality and treating strangers well. but i’m also at war with the way justice is served in homer’s world. the killings of the female slaves is brutal. beautiful poem.
Exactly, Eugenia! I kept wrestling with that same pagan (often incomprehensible) sense of justice in the book. I look forward to seeing Nolan's interpretation of the material. Thank you for reading and restacking!
Your twenty year contrast is really beautiful to me in showing the way motherhood changes us. I recently reread old journals, pre-children, and I laughed at how small my heart seemed to be. I was also young! But I hadn’t realized how much my own experience of motherhood, and walking it alongside so many other women with stories of their own including infertility, expanded my heart. I could use much more!
I read 2/3 of The Odyssey in winter, need to finish. (Along with War and Peace, it’s on an audiobook hold for me right now, Substack has revealed my lack of fortitude in reading haha.)
Anyway, I did laugh at tying yourself to sheep. Thanks so much for giving these things to ponder.
Leah, I love how you say motherhood has expanded your heart: and not just your own motherhood but the enlargement of walking beside other women in their journeys. That is beautiful and resonates with me so much. I'm so grateful God keeps bringing us further up and further in. Thank you for reading and for taking the time to leave this kind comment. This poem was such a joy to write (I was chuckling to myself over that line about tying myself to sheep LOL), and it humbles me every time my words connect with another human being. What a gift. Blessings to you, my friend.
I could tell you had fun with it, and I so appreciated that!
Thanks so much, Abigail! I have to say I felt the same about the injustice done to the serving women... I was glad Nolan left that part out, and let Odysseus agonize over the suffering he'd caused. My kids and I were reading Homer earlier this year before it was cool😂 first in graphic novel versions, then in the Fagles translations— Then the Aeneid too, so the Sinon character was of special interest to me in the movie. Since viewing, my oldest son and I have been having fun reviewing some source texts and comparing Nolan's plot changes. I think it's interesting, (though not necessarily wrong), to see how a director will modify source material to his own purposes... Though I still don't understand why they made a Calypso into a destitute older lady on a desert island...I would love to know the rationale for that one!
Evelyn, I love hearing that you read it out loud to your kids! I tried giving them little snippets here and there, but I didn't have the fortitude to include them on the entire journey this time. You inspire me! A graphic novel version is brilliant. I am going to borrow that tip from you. I totally agree that comparing a director's choices with the original is fascinating. I will definitely circle back once I have seen the movie and let you know my thoughts. Sounds like the direction Nolan took Calypso is very different from how I imagined things! Thank you for reading and leaving this thoughtful comment.
I love this, Abigail! I have reacted to stories much differently after becoming a mother as well. Certain tragedies are more bitter, almost physically painful for me now. This is a clever and captivating poem. As a side note, your problems with Odysseus are the very reason I'm grateful Nolan adapted the character and essentially Christianized him in many ways. I would prefer watching a morally conflicted Odysseus than the full fledged pagan version, though I recognize the creative liberties. What did you think of it?
Clara, I can't wait to see it! My older boys are traveling this week, so I took my younger ones to Spider Man. (They were disappointed by the lack of a true villain.) I will definitely circle back and let you know what I think when I finally see it. A conflicted Odysseus sounds complex and satisfying. As I read, I kept thinking how "Old Testament justice" sometimes gets a bad rap, but compared to the pagan morality depicted by Homer it is a compassionate and sane system of justice with guard rails and logic. I relate to how you described the way tragedies can be physically painful as a mother. It has all become so much more visceral and intimate. Sometimes I find myself tearing up while reading out loud to my kids because that sense of immediacy is so strong (finished Monster in the Hollows last night and was choking up so badly). Thank you for reading and taking the time to share your insights.