Ho letto Iliade e Odissea in svariate salse. Non credo di aver mai fatto così fatica a portare a termine questo libro. Pesantissimo e poco scorrevole in alcuni punti. A tratti moderno e a tratti scritto un un stile molto vecchio e sconnesso.

Gran adaptación. Como introducción al estudio de la original me parece un esfuerzo válido de Baricco para leerla de una forma ágil y moderna. Con supresiones, pero debidamente justificadas, es un gran libro para que, sobre todo los jóvenes, conozcan esta magna obra de la literatura universal.

Osadía deliciosamente lograda.
Tarantino querría hacerla película si Tarantino leyera a Homero, claro.

This year I would like to reread the Iliad and then move on to a couple or so of the recent retellings, such as those by Madeline Miller and Pat Barker. But I have also engaged in this  group for polyglots  to read a book a month in Italian. As Baricco’s style suits me well I proceeded with this after reading his Novecento. Un monologo. I was in a way jumping ahead since my plan was to read Homer first.

Baricco has indeed retold the story. His original aim (he has also deviated from first plans) was to organize a public reading of Homer’s original but given the impracticability since it would have required about 40 hours of attention from a modern and impatient audience. Instead, he has distilled the original taking out repetitions, the apparitions of the gods, and instead of producing summaries, has taken some sections and compressed them. The result is very beautiful and flowing.

In his Afterword Baricco gives us his conclusions after spending a full year writing this adaptation.

Although it may seem an oxymoron, he insists that this is first and foremost a story of war, which at the time of his writing it in 2004, seemed very pertinent to the violent times. The time I am reading it is even more pertinent with Ukraine in our minds now. Baricco, somewhat begrudgingly, reminds us that this poem that extols war - it is a monument dedicated to it. This realisation has made him want to delve deeper into what is behind humanity’s fascination with war.

Parallely he has been struck by how, in spite of this being (as usual) a tale told by the winners, there is a great deal of compassion expressed for many of the defeated heroes. He notices that this more emotive awareness often stems from a female point of view and reminds us (and I look forward to rereading it) that chapter VI in the Iliad is a female chapter – providing emotional symmetry to the tale.

His second, and fascinating point, is the role that words, talking, telling and retelling, play in Homer’s work. As if all the characters were Scheherazades, stealing time from death, thanks to the power of narration. This is a tale that delays destruction.

And finally, Baricco, issues a call to humanity – he thinks our Pacifism is founded on the wrong basis. He believes that the way out of violence is not to demonize war but to seek Beauty, the all-redeeming Beauty, in a procedure that would require facing Death differently. Very utopian, very appealing, and a very tall endeavour. I am afraid I am not such an optimist regarding our human nature.

Baricco is a Platonist then.

3.5⭐️ Llegit després de La cançó d’Aquiles de Madeline per contrastar un mica: aquest llibre és un recull de renglons originals de la Ilíada (alterats en perspectiva ja que el narrador és en primera persona de diferents personatges) que cerquen “l’esquelet” - com diu l’autor- dels últims dos anys (aprox) de la guerra. El que acostuma a ser una lectura tediosa ha resultat estar fàcil de llegir, evidentment manca la fantasia que Madeline atribueix a la seva magnífica obra però d’això es tracta. Moltíssimes coincidencies amb la història que relata Madeline; aquesta no defineix explícitament la relació d’Aquiles i Patrocle, et dona petites informacions que et deixin interpretar i això m’ha agradat (perquè segueix sent innegable el seu amor i admiració mutuus). Una reflexió final molt molt bona. Escriu molt maco alguns dels versos. M’encantaria llegir més, més anys de la Ilíada.

Non amo Baricco, ho provato e riprovato a leggere i suoi romanzi ma non fanno proprio per me.
Apprezzo però questa riscrittura dell’Iliade in modo corale.
Nonostante sia scritta in prosa ne viene rispettato il
Tono lirico, anche se non ho apprezzato fino in fondo la scelta a monte di eliminare la presenza degli dei, e
Ricondurre la guerra alla sola dimensione umana.

I had to read this book for my Universal Literature class. I was very hesitant at first because it is a very old classic and I feared that even in an easier version it would be confusing and difficult to read. I am very glad that was not the case. The Illiad follows the story of the Trojan war where greeks and spartans fought. Originally it was caused by the rapture of Menelao´s wife Helena by Paris. But the war had been going on for several years and this book narrates the last stretch of it.
The fact that this is an actual part of history is what made it so interesting for me. I have been hearing all my life about these different greek personalities but I never got the chance to actually know about them until now. They were all great characters, especially Aquiles and Hector. The way they fough at the end really made me love the story.
If you are interested in this area of history or if you are interested in greek things in general I would recommend this book and please don´t be intimidated by the original work.

Baricco riscrive l'Iliade in poco più di 150 pagine.
Se ne sentiva il bisogno? No, Omero tutta la vita. Il libro si rivela un'arida versione ridotta e volta in prosa, però le aggiunte non mi sono dispiaciute affatto e ho trovato la riflessione finale sul riscatto pacifista dell'epica greca molto interessante.

Quiero partir este escrito diciendo que no he leído la Ilíada original, en verso, de Homero. Ante esto, mis impresiones tanto de la historia pueden ser muy distintas a las de alguien que sí haya leído la obra original.

Me parece, por este sentido, que Baricco logra adaptar una obra tan compleja a una lectura seductora, adrenalínica y bella como es la que me he encontrado.
Recuerdo que tuve que leer alguna obra homérica en su versión escolar mientras estudiaba en el liceo — La Ilíada o La Odisea , en mi mente no logro distinguir cuál de ellas fue — de lo que rescato como una experiencia obligada, un libro que ni siquiera leí de lo disperso y confuso que se me hizo en su momento. Me parece que Baricco logra escapar, en primer lugar, de una lectura simplista burda, a su vez permitiendo la simplificación de una obra de tal magnitud.

Como guinda de la torta, la apostilla final del autor logra una reflexión hermosa y acorde a los tiempos modernos sobre la guerra en base a la Ilíada; la guerra siempre tendrá rostro de mujer en alguna parte de ella, entre la belleza con que los hombres son cegados de la muerte, el poder y la destrucción.

Incredibly well written. Baricco captures the might, ferocity and tragedy of war as Homer himself would’ve done. It was very engaging to see all of the Iliad’s key scenes from different perspectives, some that are not usually the focus in other retellings. My person favourite was the viewpoint chapter of Odysseus and Diomedes, the Doloneia is the most profound book in the Iliad and reading it through a more insightful, vulnerable lens made me adore these (and many other) character even more.

Srdžbu mi, Bariko, pevaj Ahileja, Peleju sina,
Pogubnu, kojano zada Ahejcima hiljade jada,
Snažne je duše mnogih junaka ona k Aidu
Poslala, a njih je same učinila plen da budu
Psima i pticama gozba; a Zeusu se vršaše volja,
Otkad se behu onomad razdvojili posle svađe
Atrejev sin, junacima kralj, i divni Ahilej.

...

I ispeva Bariko srdžbu Pelejovog snažnog sina,
Uzdižući hrabrost zaraćenih strana do visina,
Troje i suprotstavljenih gradova grčkih iz davnina.
Čitajući i ponovo pišući taj klasičan grčki ep,
Bariko napisa dramski komad isto tako lep,
U kome junaci desetogodišnjeg boja svoju
Pričaju priču i oživljavaju tu moćnu Troju.

A poenta nije u ratu i bolu, kao da Bariko kaže,
Mirni izlaz se uvek nudi, samo ga retki traže.
Ep ovaj divan, drevni, u novom ruhu daje i saže,
Da taj stari tekst pred nama iznova zablista
I da želja za novim čitanjem Homera ojača, čista.
Pet zvezda ovde Bariku sad dajem zato
Što je vrsni bard i njegove knjige čitam rado.

(Prva "strofa" ovog reviewa naravno nije moje autorsko delo. Bio sam toliko slobodan da jedan od prevoda Ilijade prilagodim svojim potrebama. A u ovim mojim "strofama" nisam se držao heksametara i ostalog. Nisam pesnik i ovo je samo moj pokušaj da se Barikovski poigram sa oba teksta :) )

Genial el trabajo de Alessandro Baricco, la Ilíada se lee y disfruta muchísimo más en este formato. Las modificaciones respecto al original:
1. El texto está recortado para aligerar la lectura y eliminar repeticiones. Casi nunca elimina escenas completas, excepto las escenas de los dioses.
2. Utiliza un lenguaje vivo y se aleja de la jerga de filósofos.
3. La narración es en primera persona a través de los distintos héroes.
4. Hay algunas (mínimas) adiciones al texto, claramente diferenciadas en cursiva.

Totalmente recomendable.