Just because this interpretation of Homer’s epic has been written by Simon Armitage, the British Poet Laureate, it would be understandable for you to assume “Homer’s Odyssey” is going to be a poetic epic. But it is not.
Written specifically as a radio play, Armitage succeeds in delivering a very readable and accessible version of Odysseus’ post-Troy story. Indeed, it would be entirely feasible to read the whole in a single sitting. All the major incidents are there, and I can’t help but think that comparable – and longer! – prose re-tellings will be filled with a great deal of ‘fluff’.
If you were after the essence of Odysseus’ story – ‘bite-sized’ if you like – then you could do a lot worse than Armitage’s.
Ian Gouge - Writer 