Read The Iliad Gareth Hinds Books
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Download As PDF : The Iliad Gareth Hinds Books
In a companion volume to his award-winning adaptation of The Odyssey, the incomparable graphic novelist Gareth Hinds masterfully adapts Homer’s classic wartime epic. More than three thousand years ago, two armies faced each other in an epic battle that rewrote history and came to be known as the Trojan War.
The Iliad, Homer's legendary account of this nine-year ordeal, is considered the greatest war story of all time and one of the most important works of Western literature. In this stunning graphic novel adaptation — a thoroughly researched and artfully rendered masterwork — renowned illustrator Gareth Hinds captures all the grim glory of Homer's epic. Dynamic illustrations take readers directly to the plains of Troy, into the battle itself, and lay bare the complex emotions of the men, women, and gods whose struggles fueled the war and determined its outcome. This companion volume to Hinds’s award-winning adaptation of
The Odyssey features notes, maps, a cast of characters, and other tools to help readers understand all the action and drama of Homer's epic.
Read The Iliad Gareth Hinds Books
"First of all, I am biased: I believe that The Iliad is both the pinnacle and the foundation for all Western literature, and one of life's great joys for me was learning to read the immortal words of Homer in ancient Greek when I was a teenager. So imagine the thrill of seeing those immortal words translated into a graphic format! This is a complex tale, told in complex language, with an impossibly wide cast of characters in a culture that seems far away from our modern world, and yet it all comes alive on the pages of this graphic novel, just as relevant to our current events now as it was almost 3000 years ago. I am the parent of two students with learning challenges, and I am using this book to make the classics accessible to them. There is nothing simple or easy about the Iliad. The author streamlines the story somewhat, and uses different types of visual cues and reader guides to facilitate reading comprehension. At the same time, the author uses many of Homer's narrative tricks to bring specific moments to life. This book does contain plenty of violence, human trafficking and references to rape (it's about a war), so parents should exercise their judgement about appropriateness for children or young teens. It's approximately a 7th grade reading level. But it's ideal for getting young adventure-lovers hooked on heavy-hitting literature - definitely not for the Charlotte's Web crowd. As soon as the book arrived on my doorstep, I went straight to the scene of Priam clasping the knees of Achilles, and it was exactly as I'd hoped, exactly as Homer describes it. That scene answers some of life's big questions: How do you forgive the unforgivable? What does it mean to be human? What does anything mean? The author's artwork includes some archaeological touches from the time period of the Trojan War, very nice to see. The overall effect is stunning, and captures the spirit of Homer's epic poem. I didn't think the author could possibly top his editions of Beowulf, King Lear or The Odyssey, but here it is: the cornerstone of Western literature. Highly recommended for adults, teens and tweens who are curious about this ancient tale."
Product details - Age Range 12 and up
- Grade Level 7 - 9
- Hardcover 272 pages
- Publisher Candlewick (March 12, 2019)
- Language English
- ISBN-10 076368113X
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The Iliad Gareth Hinds Books Reviews :
The Iliad Gareth Hinds Books Reviews
- First of all, I am biased I believe that The Iliad is both the pinnacle and the foundation for all Western literature, and one of life's great joys for me was learning to read the immortal words of Homer in ancient Greek when I was a teenager. So imagine the thrill of seeing those immortal words translated into a graphic format! This is a complex tale, told in complex language, with an impossibly wide cast of characters in a culture that seems far away from our modern world, and yet it all comes alive on the pages of this graphic novel, just as relevant to our current events now as it was almost 3000 years ago. I am the parent of two students with learning challenges, and I am using this book to make the classics accessible to them. There is nothing simple or easy about the Iliad. The author streamlines the story somewhat, and uses different types of visual cues and reader guides to facilitate reading comprehension. At the same time, the author uses many of Homer's narrative tricks to bring specific moments to life. This book does contain plenty of violence, human trafficking and references to rape (it's about a war), so parents should exercise their judgement about appropriateness for children or young teens. It's approximately a 7th grade reading level. But it's ideal for getting young adventure-lovers hooked on heavy-hitting literature - definitely not for the Charlotte's Web crowd. As soon as the book arrived on my doorstep, I went straight to the scene of Priam clasping the knees of Achilles, and it was exactly as I'd hoped, exactly as Homer describes it. That scene answers some of life's big questions How do you forgive the unforgivable? What does it mean to be human? What does anything mean? The author's artwork includes some archaeological touches from the time period of the Trojan War, very nice to see. The overall effect is stunning, and captures the spirit of Homer's epic poem. I didn't think the author could possibly top his editions of Beowulf, King Lear or The Odyssey, but here it is the cornerstone of Western literature. Highly recommended for adults, teens and tweens who are curious about this ancient tale.
- Wonderful surprise to see this maintain the quality and carefulness in this new volume. Especially appreciate the symbolic use of color in changes of mood, theme, setting, time. Just as clever and well-crafted as The Odyssey. Well worth the wait. My students will be fighting over this tomorrow ðŸ‘
- On my second read through this. Illustrations are wonderful and the text stays true to many lines in the original.
- I have long been a fan of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. I own three separate translations of these classics - Samuel Butler's prose, and Stanley Lombardo's and Stephen Mitchell's verse translations. I particularly like Mitchell's. Lombardo's, however, has a special appeal in its covers which link the world of Homer with our world. The Iliad cover is the D-Day landing at Omaha Beach from the stern of a Higgins Boat landing craft. The Odyssey cover is Earth, rising over the bleak landscape of our Moon which captures the longing of Odysseus for his home and family in Ithaca.
Just recently, I expanded my collection with Gareth Hinds' graphic novel adaptations of both books. Hinds has added a new visual dimension to both with his realistic artwork on every page.
It is interesting that Hinds published the Odyssey first, in 2010 and the Iliad just this year. Where his Odyssey tells some of the story entirely through the illustrations, the Iliad uses words on practically every page. In my view, this is more effective than the illustrations alone, in nearly every case. That said, the graphic novel formula works extremely well in both books. This is due to Hinds' research into the history and archeology of Ancient Greece as well as his use of multiple translations and critiques of those translations. His Iliad is enhanced by a fairly extensive set of notes keyed pages where he explains what he did and why.
To his great credit, Hinds asks his readers to actually read one or more of the many good translations of Homer. He recognizes that what he has given us is an adaptation, not the original work. He has, I think, remained true to the originals and through his artwork expanded our understanding of Western Culture. - Wow. There is a lot going on in this book. Like a super lot. For me, someone who is not well-versed in the Iliad or Greek mythology, this was just too dense.
Reading this felt a bit like trying to watch all 8 seasons of Game of Thrones condensed into one season. The result is a massive info dump of character names and relationships and that doesn't leave a ton of room for engaging story. I chose to read this because I thought it would be an easier way to familiarize myself with the stories. I think the opposite is true.
This material will be much more enjoyed by those who already have some understanding of the story. My 10-year-old nephew who has been absorbing these stories since he was about 6 would LOVE this. He already knows the background information, so reading this would not nearly be the same struggle for him. I think this is well-suited for that kind of reader.
The art here is good, and I appreciate the efforts Hinds made to try to differentiate between the characters. I also quite like the notes throughout that explain certain words or ideas.
Overall, I give this 3 stars, but think that people familiar with the story will like this much more than I did.
Thank you to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for providing me with a DRC of this book.
