The War Nerd Iliad

On paper, I shouldn't have liked this book. I've tried reading a number of modern retellings of ancient stories/myths, and they fell flat. Odysseus carrying a "tote bag" is just silly (news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2018/02/woman-scholars-take-on-the-odyssey/). But Dolan's retelling works. Yes, it uses modern language. Yes, it skips over the boring bits--really, over two hundred verses of listing boats and tribes can wear down even the most determined of Homer readers. But it works. God knows it's no Lattimore or Fagles. And here's the things: it doesn't try to be. It's its own things. And it succeeds. It's an exceedingly accessible, and ridiculously readable introduction to the world of Homer. Better to read Dolan than never read Lattimore or Fagles. Throw in Nicolson's "Mighty Dead," and you're well on your way.