Reviewed by Theresa Werba
The Odyssey (Illustrated Edition with Commentary)
Translated by Michael Solot
Society of Classical Poets
ISBN: 978-1737551362, Dec 2025, USD$36.09, 672 pages (with Commentary)
Michael Solot has offered the bountiful fruit of ten years of scholarship in this immanently readable and contemporary translation with commentary of Homer’s The Odyssey.
In previous readings of The Odyssey, I found the translations I read from to be dull, plodding, and uninteresting, no matter how hard I tried to “like” them, because it is expected of educated people to know, read, and like Homer. I was also often bogged down by the use of archaic language, such as the use of “thou”s and “-est” endings, which for some reason translators often feel the need to use when translating ancient poetry. This has always vexed me and made reading translated ancient poetry a chore and a drudgery.
As soon as I started reading Michael Solot’s translation of The Odyssey, I felt instantly connected to the text. It felt so alive, so “modern,” so contemporary, so immediate. It was like reading Homer composed in my native English. Solot uses a conversational register yet it is replete with both elevated and ordinary language with a wide, dynamic range. The story was not only clearly understandable, it was compelling, urging me onward to read to the next chapter. I have never read 400 pages so quickly! I was truly interested in the outcome of the story, and yet I was enjoying the process of how Solot’s translation made the ancient epic fresh and contemporary while remaining universal. I hardly felt like I was reading an ancient story at all, but rather some kind of crazy modern story of human (and divine) actions and foibles. I was delighted and surprised how readily I was able to be immersed in Odysseus’ world, and yet how much that world was like my own today. I was never bored! It was like I finally got it! In fact I was looking forward to getting back to the story each day, it is that compelling, relatable, and readable! Michael Solot truly has done some magic with his translation! Rather than archaisms, Solot uses modern contractions such as “don’t” and “let’s,” bringing even more immediacy and relatability to his contemporary English translation. Solot also puts Odysseus’ thoughts in italics, so that we can more clearly distinguish his inner monologues from conversations with others.
Michael Solot has translated Homer’s ancient Greek poetry into blank verse (without rhymes) using the rhythm of dactylic pentameter, which feels similar to the more familiar iambic pentameter of Milton and Shakespeare, but possessing more of an undulation, a current flowing in the background of the ear and mind. This ends up creating a unique background canvas that the story is painted upon, much like the waters of the Mediterranean sea which frame the story itself! Although I did initially read some of the lines aloud, to get the feel of the rhythm in my mind’s ear, I tried not to be consciously aware of it as I was reading. Yet interestingly, I could sense the undulating rhythm in the background as I read, framing the story in in a subtle way which does not override the storytelling at all. As a poet myself, I feel that a really good poem is so good that you don’t think too much of the structure at first—you feel something poetic happening, but the essence of the poem comes through first. I felt that way reading Michael Solot’s translation—it is done so well that you truly are hardly aware of the structural components through which the translation is formed. The poetic structure keeps the translation from becoming prose, elevating the words while grounding it, like a soft underlying echo. In a sense, it is a work of art about a work of art! The translation didn’t get in the way of the original poetry!
Besides Solot’s translation itself, is the addition of wonderful illustrations by Aedan Kennedy. I absolutely love how Kennedy managed to capture the essence of these funny or dramatic moments in the story, so that your eyes have a treat, providing you with visuals you can synthesize as you read. The illustrations remind me the way children’s books have illustrations, integrating into the story-telling, enriching and interpreting the story being told. It truly creates an immersive experience! This addition alone makes Michael Solot’s edition of The Odyssey well worth the purchase!
But there is more. Not only does Mr. Solot provide a pronunciation glossary of all the names and places in the text and a series of maps, but he has included over 200 pages of commentary, aligned by chapter, referencing words and phrases in italics, so it is easy to find the commentary to whatever you are seeking information or clarity about. I was particularly happy to see that the entire commentary is in the back of the book, not at the bottom of the page, as it is in many translations or research works—I absolutely hate it when the text itself is interrupted by someone else’s ideas. So much better the way Mr. Solot has done it! It does not obstruct the story-telling with footnotes or end notes. I found it easy to find the reference point in the chapter I was reading—it was reassuring knowing I had something to refer to if I had questions or thoughts about a particular character or situation as it was coming up. The commentary alone is well worth the cost of the book! I am sure that scholars would find illumination in Mr. Solot’s commentary, but I can speak for myself as an educated layperson, that Michael Solot’s commentary would be very helpful for first-time readers, or a student of Greek poetry at any level. Professors, teachers, educators, and homeschoolers will be rewarded by student engagement potential and interest provided by the fresh, contemporary translation and the companion commentary.
In the same way that operas and plays and musicals are done and redone with new casts, we read ancients texts via new translations as they come to us. We have been afforded such an opportunity now in Michael Solot’s new translation of The Odyssey. The quality and comprehensiveness of the entire work reflects the ten years of labor he put into it! I am very happy I had the enjoyable experience of reading Michael Solot’s translation and happy I have his excellent commentary to aid my understanding. I am the richer for both. Michael Solot’s worthy translation with commentary of Homer’s The Odyssey is an excellent reference work as well as a work of literature, a book that would have pride of place in the shelf of any student, scholar, or Homer aficionado. Come, hear and read about Odysseus, and come and view the Dawn, rising with her “rose-petaled fingers”.
About the reviewer: Theresa Werba is the author of eight books, four in poetry, including What Was and Is: Formal Poetry and Free Verse (Bardsinger Books, 2024) and Sonnets, a collection of 65 sonnets (Shanti Arts, 2020). Her work has appeared in such journals as The Scarlet Leaf Review, The Wilderness House Literary Review, Spindrift, Mezzo Cammin, The Wombwell Rainbow, Fevers of the Mind, The Art of Autism, The Jewish Writing Project, Serotonin, The Road Not Taken, and the Society of Classical Poets Journal. Her work ranges from forms such as the ode and sonnet to free verse, with topics ranging from neurodivergence, love, loss, aging, to faith and disillusionment and more. She also has written on autism, adoption and abuse/domestic violence. Find Theresa Werba at www.theresawerba.com and on social media @thesonnetqueen.