The Odyssey

An excellent version... it may well prove the translation for this and the next generation. * Sir Roger Tomkys, Anglo-Hellenic Review *
Hammond’s admirable translation….is remarkably successful in combining accuracy with a lively and highly readable style * A.F.Garvie, Classical Review *
Martin Hammond’s new version is clearly a labour of love and a wonderful achievement as it has none [of the faults of other versions] and although it is in prose, if read aloud the prose transforms itself into poetry. It is as close to the Greek as it is possible to get and keeps all the formulaic patterns so that the music of the original shines out and rings in the ear…..It is instilled with magic Mediterranean light…..I have now read it seven times and find I get more from each re-reading * William Cookson, AGENDA *
Hammond's precise and highly readable translation embraces not only the immediate human appeal of the Odyssey but also much of what is alien to modern literary culture: 'modes of speech, insistent narrative sequencing, the wealth of formulaic repetition' ... [It] offers Anglophone readers a faithful and direct experience of the style and manner of Homer's great poem. * The Classical Review *
Overall this is a highly professional production, to be seriously considered for textbook use in the classroom. * Journal of Classics Teaching *
Hammond succeeds admirably in presenting a translation that is easy and enjoyable to read and faithful to Homer * D.M.Goldstein, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
This is a magnificent piece of work….I enjoyed reading [Hammond’s] Odyssey enormously. It is more years than I care to think since I read the work from end to end. Hammond’s translation moved me to do so within a day, and that is a tribute indeed. This is a first-class work which should give pleasure to both those who read Greek and those who do not – and deserves to attract many to read Homer for whom that is as yet a pleasure in store * Dr John Moore, Conference and Common Room *