Homer's The Odyssey

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I. Preliminary Information

A. The name of the book I read is The Odyssey Translated by W.H.D. Rouse.

B. The author of the book is Homer.

C. The name of the book's publisher is New American Library. The novel was published in New York City.

D. This book was published in August 1999. The original year is not known.

E. The edition of this book is Signet Classic.

F. The book's translator is W.H.D. Rouse.

G. This novel has 271 pages.

H. This book is a work of non-fiction.

II. Book's Contents

A. Fiction

B. Non-fiction

1. The general topic of the book is Odysseus trying to get home and people mourning over his absence for twenty years. No one in Ithaca has seen or heard from him. His wife, Penelopeia, and his son, Telemachos, are worried. Since it has been so long, every man in the city is now wooing Penelopeia.

2. The main characters in the novel, The Odyssey, are Odysseus, a man who left his home and family to go fight in Troy and never returned home for twenty years, because of a series of misfortunes. Telemachos, Odysseus's son, who finally, after twenty years, decided to sail the sea in search of anyone who may know anything about his father. Also, there is Penelopeia, Odysseus's wife, who has been waiting for him all this time. Her heart is full of pain and sorrow and all of the men are wooing her for her hand in marriage. There are also several kings who play a part in this novel. They are King Nestor, King Alcinoos, and King Menelaos. Lastly, one of the minor, but still important characters is the swineherd, whom let Odysseus stay in his home when he returned from his long and tiring journey.

3. The chief place in which the novel's actions occur is in Ithaca. Some other places in which actions take place are the Island of Aeaea, Island of the Sirens, and the Island of Helios.

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