The Odyssey

The Odyssey

Author: Hinds, Gareth

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publication Date: Oct 2010 

"Don't confuse this hefty, respectful adaptation with some of the other recent ones; this one holds nothing back and is proudly, grittily realistic rather than cheerfully cartoonish."
Kirkus Reviews

          After successfully adapting such notable works as Beowulf and King Lear, artist Gareth Hinds as now adapted The Odyssey into a great graphic novel. The Odyssey is a new and delightful way to read Homer’s epic poem, as it is completely illustrated. In case you need a reminder, The Odyssey is about Odysseus, a Greek hero, who has spent 10 years overpowering the Trojans in the Trojan War, and then takes another grueling decade warring brutes such as Poseidon and the Cyclops on a long journey home to his son and patient wife, even while men fight to become beautiful Penelope’s new husband.

           Hinds retells the ancient story with an eye for the young adult audience. The book is long, but not as long as most versions of the epic poem. Also, it contains far fewer words, which may be the key to understanding the story for students who have difficulty with reading. The book's meaning can be deciphered through both the pictures and the dialogue. Hind's chooses words that increases readability and understanding while moving the storyline along. The epic poem can be sometimes difficult for readers because it is two-thousand years old and from a different culture, and so contains characters and situations that are far beyond the normal realm of contemporary American life. Hinds seeks to bridge this gap through the illustrations and sifted dialogue, which the author states that he has used many translations to find the most inspirational, and to which he as used nearly the same wording for his own visual 'translation.' 

        Hinds' colored pencil artwork is not abstract - it clearly conveys the story line with a precise, and unembellished stye, with close attention to detail, whereupon readers can easily and accurately understand the story. Hinds is especially clear in his expressions of the characters emotions, as their eyes can convey anguish or determination. The style of the artwork may not appeal to all readers, however, and the text can still be equally cumbersome as the dialogue has not been simplified as far as it could be, and is situated oddly in the text boxes, in sentences two long any mysteriously left-justified in round containers, as if pasted in collage form. It is if the illustrations and the text flow side by side, instead of intertwining as some great graphic novels are able to accomplish. Still, a reader of this work will rely on the illustrations as their primary key to understanding, and the characters and landscapes can intensify and deepen one's experience of this renowned story, especially if the reader is weary of poetry, and such a long poem. However, even as a visual learner myself, I would be more keen to reread one of the translations than this edition, as I found it tiresome to get through.

       This graphic novel is suitable for children in middle and high school, as well as adult readers. I would never dream of recommending a student read this version over the classic epic poem by Homer unless a student is completely unwilling to try to read a classic translation. I think in most cases this graphic novel should be used as a fun accompaniment. Students could read this work before, during or after the original reading, noting how the illustrations portray their favorite or most memorable parts of Odysseus' journey. There are many activities that can be used to accompany this work, such as creating a play from the story, or adapting a picture from the graphic novel back to a poem that the student writes him or herself. 

         The Odyssey has won numerous awards and accolades including Best Children's Books of the Year in 2011 by Bank Street College of Education, a Booklist starred review, a Kirkus Starred Review, and the Center for Children's Book's 2011 Blue Ribbon. 

Hinds, Gareth. The Odyssey. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2010. ISBN: 978-0- 7636-4266-2.