Books

The Aeneid

Aeneas travels from fallen Troy to Italy, fights a war, and founds Rome. 

The underlying story is exactly on point for me, but the Robert Fagles translation didn’t quite hit the spot. 

Anyone have a favorite translation? I’d like to give it another shot.

Watership Down

A rabbit leads his fellows on an odyssey to find a better life. 

I feel weird about reviewing this because it’s a kids’ book about rabbits but it’s also one of the best adventure stories I’ve ever read. 

The world building is so good that you kind of forget that it’s a fantasy and start thinking you’re just reading a faithful account of the lives of rabbits translated into English. The El-ahrairah mythology wasn’t quite as strong as the main story but it helped add depth. 

The main characters are all plausibly rabbitish, but have utterly distinct personalities of their own. Adam’s pulls few punches, and when bad stuff happens to the characters, you really feel it. 

It’s a book full of captivating stories, interesting societies, savage nature, and heroic struggle. Imagine if Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Nimh had the scale and depth of the Odyssey. 

Read it to a kid if you can. It’s my 4yo’s favorite book. But if you don’t have a kid to read it to, read it anyway.