你听说过Odysseus这个名字。你知道木马计、独眼巨人，还有一位在织机前不停纺织的女子。但每次翻开Homer，那些名字便纠缠不清，众神吵嚷，你或许在第三卷便放下了。 按下播放键，整个故事便一气呵成，从特洛伊上空的硝烟，一路讲到那把求婚者们无人能拉开的弓。一章跟随Odysseus刺瞎Polyphemus，与Circe讨价还价，为抵御Sirens把自己绑在桅杆上，穿行于亡者之间；下一章则回到Ithaca，Penelope以智谋周旋于一屋子急于宣告她丈夫已死的男人。众神以书面对话登场，既有人性弱点又令人发笑，Athena偏袒她所青睐的人，Poseidon则怀恨在心。每一个原本难记的名字都随着情节自然浮现，不必停下来琢磨谁是谁。 到了最后一章，整部《Odyssey》完整地装进你的脑海，你把它看作一个关于一对男女拒绝放弃的故事。就从特洛伊在燃烧开始，剩下的，交给大海。 You know the name Odysseus. You know there was a wooden horse, a one-eyed giant, a woman weaving at a loom. But every time you have tried Homer, the names blurred, the gods argued, and you put it down somewhere around book three. Press play and the whole story runs as one unbroken tale, from the smoke over Troy to the bow no suitor can string. One chapter follows Odysseus blinding Polyphemus, bargaining with Circe, lashing himself to the mast for the Sirens and walking among the dead; the next returns to Ithaca, where Penelope outwits a hall full of men who want her husband declared dead. The gods speak in written dialogue, flawed and funny, Athena playing favorites while Poseidon nurses his grudge, and every hard name is eased in through the action so you never stop to wonder who is who. By the last chapter you will finally hold the entire Odyssey in your head as a single story about a man and a woman refusing to give up. Start with Troy burning, and let the sea do the rest.