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The Adventures Of Ulysses
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
132 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1902
About the author
Charles Lamb
1,719 books169 followersCharles Lamb was an English essayist with Welsh heritage, best known for his "Essays of Elia" and for the children's book "Tales from Shakespeare", which he produced along with his sister,
Mary Lamb
(1764–1847).
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 17, 2018
It was fun going through Ulysses adventures again, but this isn't the way to do it. The adventures are taken from the "Odyssey" & his name in Greek is Odysseus. OK, this is the Latin version so his name is Ulysses & so I'd expect the gods & goddesses to use their Latin names. They did - sometimes - not always. Athena was Minerva about half the time. Annoying, although I had no trouble translating.
I wonder if that was this audio recording, though. I downloaded it recently from the library
https://kyunbound.overdrive.com/boone...
The narrator is supposed to be Rebecca Dittman. She sure sounds like a guy, though. The bit rate is supposed to be 64kbps, but it must have been upped from 16kbps. There was also a distinct difference between tracks. It's very much like old cassettes I ripped 20 years ago.
On top of all that, big parts of the story were skimmed through as this was written as a lead-in to the adventures of his son, Telemachus. OK, but leaving in long, twisted dialogue kind of sucked. Felt like rush hour traffic - start & stop. And he left out Ulysses' dog. No excuse for that.
Anyway, not recommended. 1.5 stars rounding up to 2 since I made it through.
I wonder if that was this audio recording, though. I downloaded it recently from the library
https://kyunbound.overdrive.com/boone...
The narrator is supposed to be Rebecca Dittman. She sure sounds like a guy, though. The bit rate is supposed to be 64kbps, but it must have been upped from 16kbps. There was also a distinct difference between tracks. It's very much like old cassettes I ripped 20 years ago.
On top of all that, big parts of the story were skimmed through as this was written as a lead-in to the adventures of his son, Telemachus. OK, but leaving in long, twisted dialogue kind of sucked. Felt like rush hour traffic - start & stop. And he left out Ulysses' dog. No excuse for that.
Anyway, not recommended. 1.5 stars rounding up to 2 since I made it through.
October 22, 2014
A shortened version of The Odyssey intended for children, edited and recast by early 19th century educator Charles Lamb. Only the journey of Ulysses himself is included, the concurrent story of Telemachus's search for his father completely omitted, with brevity further achieved by 'avoiding the prolixity which marks the speeches and the descriptions in Homer.'(!?)
As such, all the episodes are retold in bright and breezy fashion, with some, such as the stay in the land of the Lotus-eaters and the unfortunate meeting with the Laestrygonians, being dispensed with in a single paragraph.
The encounter with Polyphemus is summarized as 'manifest proof how far manly wisdom excels brutish force', which is a fair assessment. Pretty much the only concession to any kind of modernizing to clarify things for the young readership is when Sisyphus is referred to as 'a seller of state secrets'.
Any attempt to introduce The Odyssey to children is all right in my book, and I know that Lamb's version was still popular at schools a hundred years after he wrote it. I don't think it would be now though.
He skips a little too swiftly over the superior action of the first half, whilst lingering too long on the more sedate episodes later one; and when dialogue is used, his approach is too versified for a 21st century reader.
As such, all the episodes are retold in bright and breezy fashion, with some, such as the stay in the land of the Lotus-eaters and the unfortunate meeting with the Laestrygonians, being dispensed with in a single paragraph.
The encounter with Polyphemus is summarized as 'manifest proof how far manly wisdom excels brutish force', which is a fair assessment. Pretty much the only concession to any kind of modernizing to clarify things for the young readership is when Sisyphus is referred to as 'a seller of state secrets'.
Any attempt to introduce The Odyssey to children is all right in my book, and I know that Lamb's version was still popular at schools a hundred years after he wrote it. I don't think it would be now though.
He skips a little too swiftly over the superior action of the first half, whilst lingering too long on the more sedate episodes later one; and when dialogue is used, his approach is too versified for a 21st century reader.
May 5, 2022
Better read the original The Odyssey. I understand Lamb wanted to make it more accessible for a younger audience, but he removes to much of the interesting style of Homer. He changed the narrative to chronological, while what Homer did was way more interesting. He also changed a lot of details for no apparent reason. I think The Odyssey is a master work, and this just a hollow echo.
October 3, 2012
Obviously missing out on a lot of the beautiful language and epic feel of the original, nonetheless enjoyable. I dearly love the character of Ulysses - the strong man who lives more by his wits than by his biceps - even though they are poppin'! There's a picaresque quality to his adventures that I find appealing everytime.
December 29, 2016
(...) to imagine that prospective penitence can excuse a present violation of duty...
February 8, 2018
I read this as supplemental material for Ulysses, since it was Joyce's first introduction to the character. What really made it interesting was the comparison between this English school adaptation from the 19th century, and Emily Wilson's translation of the Odyssey, released in 2017. Lamb's version seems to make the story even more masculine than previous translations I've read, such as Fagles or Graves, while Wilson's updated translation illuminates a character whose problems are most often caused by masculinity. Despite its social shortcomings, however, Lamb's version of the story is interesting, and has some rather beautiful instances of poetic license. All-in-all, it's worth reading, provided you have the right context.
June 22, 2021
Li este livro em preparação para a leitura de "Ulysses", de James Joyce. É meu primeiro livro sobre a mitologia clássica, o qual recomendo com entusiasmo. Sugiro também as traduções adaptadas de David Bruce, onde descobri que os cursos da Prof. Elizabeth Vandiver são absolutamente imperdíveis para conhecer o mundo da mitologia.
July 8, 2023
Great book. I listened to the audiobook version on YouTube. I will leave the link below so that everyone can enjoy it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_ZI2...
January 8, 2015
Lamb includes the main details of Homer's Odyssey, but skips the first third of Homer's poem and gets right to Ulysses' adventures.
I liked Lamb for his beautiful language and for daring to make moral judgments, calling the greedy sailors "covetous wretches" and the Cyclops a "cannibal." When Ulysses' men eat oxen reserved for the gods, Lamb describes the feast a "rash and sacrilegious banquet." He gives details about Ulysses' descent into hell and of the horrible punishments being suffered there. And he emphasizes Ulysses' choosing to be faithful to his wife in spite of the repeated advances of Calypso.
Although this version is somewhat simplified for children, it is not completely "sanitized." There are some gory bits, some scary monsters and several women out to seduce Ulysses. Nothing rated "R", though.
I liked Lamb for his beautiful language and for daring to make moral judgments, calling the greedy sailors "covetous wretches" and the Cyclops a "cannibal." When Ulysses' men eat oxen reserved for the gods, Lamb describes the feast a "rash and sacrilegious banquet." He gives details about Ulysses' descent into hell and of the horrible punishments being suffered there. And he emphasizes Ulysses' choosing to be faithful to his wife in spite of the repeated advances of Calypso.
Although this version is somewhat simplified for children, it is not completely "sanitized." There are some gory bits, some scary monsters and several women out to seduce Ulysses. Nothing rated "R", though.
May 1, 2011
This is the version of The Odyssey that James Joyce supposedly use to write Ulysses. A great short version of the epic tale.
April 9, 2015
Chronicling elements of Homer's Odyssey, 'the Adventures of Ulysses' follows events during Ulysses's return to Ithaca...
August 13, 2016
Lihtsasti loetav lühikokkuvõte Odüsseuse piinarikastest seiklustest 20 aasta jooksul, üritades pöörduda tagasi koju pärast Trooja sõda...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews