Christopher Logue: War Music

Get in the xigxag app
Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book. Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }} Send as a gift

Listen to a sample

What to expect

War Music is a dramatic poem based on Homer’s Iliad. Logue worked on it for more than forty years and it was left incomplete at his death in 2011. At the time of this recording it was divided into three parts: Kings, The Husbands, and War Music, the last of which is further divided into three sections: Patrocleia, GBH, and Pax. War Music later became the poem’s general title. Commissioned in the first instance by BBC Radio, War Music changed slightly as it developed, which means that there are a number of small discrepancies between the published and the recorded work.

The Iliad itself is a continuous narrative of some 16,000 lines and is generally thought to be the product of a poetic tradition as much as or even more than of an individual poet. It tells the story of the war fought over the departure of Helen from Greece to Troy.

Critics Review

“The war it portrays is real, and harsh, and horrible; but the music is real, too.”

New York Times

War Music is at once an ancient and a modern poem, a triumph of virtuoso rhetoric.”

New Statesman

“One can hardly help oneself from singing the lines Logue puts in our mouths as well as our minds.”

New York Review of Books

“Less a translation than an adaptation. Less an adaptation, in fact, than an original poem of considerable power.”

The Observer (London)

“The careful reader may notice the care of Logue’s line endings, the sy hum of his iambic pentameter, the lovely repetition of ‘sigh’ and the complex imbrication of sighing sounds. It is through such care that Homer is so triumphantly renewed for our age.”

The Guardian (London)

“[Logue’s] considerable work in theater and film as actor, playwright, and screenwriter nourished the poetry, much of which was dramatic in nature, and also helped make him one of his generation’s finest readers of verse.”

London Review of Books

“A work of great virtuosity, something completely original in style and stance…Faithful in tone and spirit to the essential Greekness of the old poem. More than this, the characters who figure are drawn with economy and clarity—they spring off the page…a small ‘triumph of skill and beauty.’”

London Magazine

“I am crazy about it. Haven’t seen such poetry in ages.”

Henry Miller, American writer, artist, and author of Tropic of Cancer

“Never was blood bloodier or fate more fatal.”

Louis MacNeice, Irish poet and playwright

“A lasting harvest.”

George Steiner, multiaward-winning writer and literary critic

“Logue’s vivid and excellent poem is…a thorough reconstruction…The care with which the original has been re-brushed is wonderful. The bright colors and light of the Middle East hit you like a hammer. The sighing humanity of the mortals stands above the brittle gods, who just want to see a good punch-up. Logue has produced a mesmeric poem that bears comparison with Eliot.”

Paul Pickering, British novelist and playwright

“One of the landmarks of twentieth-century poetry.”

James O'Brien

About xigxag

Enjoy the best audiobooks on xigxag, an innovative, user-friendly audiobook platform that makes it easy to find, purchase, and enjoy your favorite books in audio format. xigxag’s flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less – affordable prices and the best audiobook deals with no subscription required.  Give the perfect gift with our audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

xigxag’s commitment to sustainability and ethical practices ensures a guilt-free listening experience from an exceptional digital book platform – an exciting alternative to big tech.  Enjoy audiobooks from the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service and a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Search effortlessly, read honest audiobook reviews evaluating both the book and the narration, and discover hidden gems.  Download or stream top audiobook titles anytime, anywhere and get the best possible listening experience on the UK’s best independent audiobook app.  Experience the future of audiobooks today.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.