Odes of Pindar

Pindar in English Verse by Pindar, translated by Arthur S Way, 160 pages

     Far beyond envy are the praises stored

          For victors at Olympia crowned.

     Songs are my sheep; I, as some shepherd-lord,

          Find them some fair pasture-ground.

Perhaps the greatest poet of classical Greece, excepting only Homer, Pindar primarily wrote odes sung in honor of the victors of the various Hellenic games.  As is to be expected, he celebrates the excellence of the athletes.

     And the hero whose hands have so gallantly striven,

     Unto him be all worshipful honor given

          Alike of the stranger and citizen.

     For he treadeth the path that from insolence turneth,

     Great lessons bequeathed by his fathers he learneth

          By his true heart taught.

But even more, he praises the virtues of the city-state that produced the champion.

     And the glory of that good town do thou sing

     And the glory of her champion triumph-crowned.

The odes were indeed originally sung.  In fact, they were chanted as hymns.

     So send I the Song-queens' gift, the nectar outpoured

     From my spirit, its vintage of sweetness, a chant to record

     The triumph of guerdon-winners, their victory

     At Olympia and Pytho gained in the athlete-strife,

     Whom praiseful report companioneth, happy is he!

For in extolling the country of the victor, the poet traces its origins back into the realm of myth - for Pindar, the greatness of the present is an expression of the continuing power of the past deeds of gods and heroes.

     Then rang the close with songs, as music rings through banquet-hall.

          So voices still the victor sing, and feet the revel tread.

Barracuda

Barracuda by Christos Tsiolkas    431 pages

 At 14-years old, Danny Kelly wants nothing more to swim, to be a champion, and to fit in. While he excels at swimming, the other two goals remain slightly out of reach, which is the conflict of Tsioklas’s novel.

He’s won a scholarship to a prestigious private school, but Danny is from a lower, working-class household. His father is abusive---physically, emotionally, and mentally---while his mother, younger sister, and younger brother think that Danny is the cat’s meow.

 Danny knows he has the talent to take him all the way to the Olympics; that’s why he practices four hours a day and puts up with a coach who is almost as warm-hearted as his father. Danny hates his life, and all he wants to do is swim. When he loses an important meet, Danny’s self-loathing reaches a new low. He hates the world and everyone in it. He lashes out on more than one occasion, ending with a prison sentence.

Fast-forward 20 years, Danny, now called Dan, is trying to make a new life for himself and his partner, Clyde. Clyde wants to move back to his native Scotland. Dan goes, but soon returns to Australia.  Scotland doesn’t feel right. Although he is still angry all the time, Dan does his best to keep the violence inside.

 I almost gave up on this novel after the first 107 pages. Danny whines and carries on like a five-year-old girl. He constantly feel sorry for himself and refuses to let go of any of the negativity which surrounds him.  Then I read reviews on Amazon, and decided to give the rest of the book a chance. Oh, yes, I read all 431 pages, and through it all I want to tell Danny/Dan to get over it, quit wallowing in something that happened decades earlier.

 While other have called Barracuda tender, savage, and blazingly brilliant, I call it whining, full of self-pity, and dull.

 I give Barracuda 1 out of 5 stars.

 I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review.