---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I find that readers are very interested…"
description: "\"I find that readers are very interested in how things are translated. I just turned in the first part of this father-son Odyssey, and there is a part w..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/daniel-mendelsohn-21084_books_i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested_3110477.jpg"
---

#  I find that readers are very interested in how things are…

![“I find that readers are very interested in how things are translated. I just turned in the first part of this father-son Odyssey, and there is a part when I digress and explain that the name Odysseus is related to the word for pain. Like &quot;-odyne&quot; in the word &quot;anodyne,&quot; pain. It's the same…” quote by Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/daniel-mendelsohn-21084_books_i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested_3110477.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/daniel-mendelsohn-21084_books_i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested_3110477.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/daniel-mendelsohn-21084_books_i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested_3110477.jpg)

> “I find that readers are very interested in how things are translated. I just turned in the first part of this father-son Odyssey, and there is a part when I digress and explain that the name Odysseus is related to the word for pain. Like "-odyne" in the word "anodyne," pain. It's the same, "-odyne" as in Odysseus. He's the man who both suffers endlessly, in trying to get home, but also inflicts a lot of suffering on everyone he visits.”

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The passage reflects on readers' curiosity about translation, linking the name Odysseus to pain and noting his dual role as sufferer and source of suffering.

**In simple terms:** Readers are fascinated by how translation reveals deeper meanings, especially in myth.

Key Takeaway

Explore the layers of meaning in translation.

Themes

literature translation mythology

Mood

analytical inquisitive

Type

literary educational

When to use this quote

- academic research
- teaching literature
- creative writing

Key Concepts

etymology narrative analysis character study

Questions to Reflect On

- How does knowing a word’s root change its story?
- What responsibilities do translators have to original meanings?

A Different Perspective

Translations can oversimplify complex cultural contexts.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Odysseus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odysseus/) [Odyssey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/odyssey/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/)

## Related quotes

> [What if The Odyssey has no more validity or authenticity than one of the other stories that you hear Odysseus telling? Whoever created The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/what-if-the-odyssey-has-no-more-validity-or-authenticity-than-one-of/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [“Odysseus...sleeps sound beside Calypso and when he wakes thinks only of Penelope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-adams/odysseus-sleeps-sound-beside-calypso-and-when-he-wakes-thinks-only-of/)

[Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/)

> [SIREN, n. One of several musical prodigies famous for a vain attempt to dissuade Odysseus from a life on the ocean wave. Figuratively, any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/siren-n-one-of-several-musical-prodigies-famous-for-a-vain-attempt-to/)

[Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/)

> [“What is admired in one generation is abhorred in another. We cannot say who will survive the holocaust of memory… We are men only,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/what-is-admired-in-one-generation-is-abhorred-in-another-we-cannot/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> [“Odysseus is the statesman of the Iliad, the man in the middle, keeping what balance he can among the parties. He shows himself at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-brann/odysseus-is-the-statesman-of-the-iliad-the-man-in-the-middle-keeping/)

[Eva Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-brann/)

> [As I look back, I feel a touch of pride at my younger self's dedication to literature, which gave him the strength of mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/as-i-look-back-i-feel-a-touch-of-pride-at-my-younger-self-s/)

[Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/)

> [“What could you possibly write at Gates of Hades?” Cadmus asked. “Keep your spirits up.” Lycon sheathed the dagger he’d used to chisel the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sulari-gentill/what-could-you-possibly-write-at-gates-of-hades-cadmus-asked-keep/)

[Sulari Gentill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sulari-gentill/)

> [It's the quintessential Greek sport: harmonious, competitive, agonizing, nautical, and above all, intelligent. It combines Odysseus's brains and brawn and love of the sea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-s-strauss/it-s-the-quintessential-greek-sport-harmonious-competitive-agonizing/)

[Barry S. Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-s-strauss/)

> [But you, Achilles,/ There is not a man in the world more blest than you--/ There never has been, never will be one./ Time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-you-achilles-there-is-not-a-man-in-the-world-more-blest-than-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“But when Odysseus rose, that man of many devices, fixing his down-cast eyes on the ground he stood: nor his scepter swayed, either this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/but-when-odysseus-rose-that-man-of-many-devices-fixing-his-down-cast/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [Across the gulf of centuries, the blind smile of Homer is turned upon our age. Along the echoing corridors of time, the roar of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/across-the-gulf-of-centuries-the-blind-smile-of-homer-is-turned-upon/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [To find anything comparable with our forthcoming ventures into space, we must go back far beyond Columbus, far beyond Odysseus-far, indeed, beyond the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/to-find-anything-comparable-with-our-forthcoming-ventures-into-space/)

[Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/)

> [“You are like Odysseus, who could go out onto the great sea, lose all his goods and his friends, come to the boundaries of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-bradshaw/you-are-like-odysseus-who-could-go-out-onto-the-great-sea-lose-all/)

Gillian Bradshaw

> [Odysseus inclines his head. "True. But fame is a strange thing. Some men gain glory after they die, while others fade. What is admired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-miller/odysseus-inclines-his-head-true-but-fame-is-a-strange-thing-some-men/)

[Madeline Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-miller/)

> ['The Odyssey' is a great poem to refugee-dom... Odysseus is not entirely a refugee... he's somebody who's blown off course. The entire book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-osborne/the-odyssey-is-a-great-poem-to-refugee-dom-odysseus-is-not-entirely-a/)

[Lawrence Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-osborne/)

## More by Daniel Mendelsohn

> [I was interested in all kinds of things, whether it be Avatar, Mad Men, Troy, 300, Battlestar Gallactica, or the poems of Horace and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-was-interested-in-all-kinds-of-things-whether-it-be-avatar-mad-men/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [“An epic without a focus - without a single action, a coherent plot, a single terrible point to make - was just a very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/an-epic-without-a-focus-without-a-single-action-a-coherent-plot-a/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [Life is not bad, and it doesn't look more real if it's ugly or it's gritty. Think of your own life. Most of what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/life-is-not-bad-and-it-doesn-t-look-more-real-if-it-s-ugly-or-it-s/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [“As ingenious as this explanation is, it seems to me to miss entirely the emotional significance of the text- its beautiful and beautifully economical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/as-ingenious-as-this-explanation-is-it-seems-to-me-to-miss-entirely/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [“To be alive today is to have a story to tell. To be alive is precisely to be the hero, the center of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/to-be-alive-today-is-to-have-a-story-to-tell-to-be-alive-is-precisely/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [We are living in an era of such interesting new forms, and certainly narrative non-fiction has emerged as a major form. People who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/we-are-living-in-an-era-of-such-interesting-new-forms-and-certainly/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [“This consideration takes us very close to what it is that makes Greek tragedy “tragic.” A play about an unambiguously heroic young woman, someone’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/this-consideration-takes-us-very-close-to-what-it-is-that-makes-greek/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [In the pre-Internet age you had to find gay things - or things that were slightly radioactive with erotic interest. You had to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/in-the-pre-internet-age-you-had-to-find-gay-things-or-things-that/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [“real tragedy is never a straightforward confrontation between Good and Evil, but is, rather, much more exquisitely and much more agonizingly, a conflict between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/real-tragedy-is-never-a-straightforward-confrontation-between-good/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [Shopping as lifestyle is really a sub-cultural problem. When the strictures that set you apart or oppressed you, disappear, is there a way, legitimately,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/shopping-as-lifestyle-is-really-a-sub-cultural-problem-when-the/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [You come out of the gate, you've got something new, you're subversive, nobody's ever done it before. But by your fifth novel and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/you-come-out-of-the-gate-you-ve-got-something-new-you-re-subversive/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [Closeness can lead to emotions other than love. It's the ones who have been too intimate with you, lived in too close quarters, seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/closeness-can-lead-to-emotions-other-than-love-it-s-the-ones-who-have/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [The writers we absorb when we're young bind us to them, sometimes lightly, sometimes with iron. In time, the bonds fall away, but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/the-writers-we-absorb-when-we-re-young-bind-us-to-them-sometimes/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [Gay people, certainly gay people of my generation, at least of a certain echelon - middle-class Americans - have binocular vision. We all are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/gay-people-certainly-gay-people-of-my-generation-at-least-of-a/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

> [“sunt lacrimae rerum, “There are tears in things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/sunt-lacrimae-rerum-there-are-tears-in-things/)

[Daniel Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

[Explore all 30 Daniel Mendelsohn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/)

## More Books quotes

> [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/)

[Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/)

> [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/)

[Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/)

> [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/)

[Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/)

> [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/)

[Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/)

> [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/)

[Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/)

> [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/)

Christopher K. Krebs

> [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/)

[Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/)

> [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/)

[Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/)

> [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/)

[Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/)

> [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/)

[Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/)

> [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/)

Markus Herz

> [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/)

[Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/)

[Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I find that readers are very interested in how things are translated. I just turned in the first part of this father-son Odyssey, and there is a part when I digress and explain that the name Odysseus is related to the word for pain. Like \"-odyne\" in the word \"anodyne,\" pain. It's the same, \"-odyne\" as in Odysseus. He's the man who both suffers endlessly, in trying to get home, but also inflicts a lot of suffering on everyone he visits.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Daniel Mendelsohn"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested-in-how-things-are-translated/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested-in-how-things-are-translated/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/daniel-mendelsohn-21084_books_i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested_3110477.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/daniel-mendelsohn-21084_books_i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested_3110477.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/840/daniel-mendelsohn-21084_books_i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested_3110477.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I find that readers are very interested in how things are translated. I just turned in the first part of…” — Daniel Mendelsohn",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Daniel Mendelsohn",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-mendelsohn/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I find that readers are very...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested-in-how-things-are-translated/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-mendelsohn/i-find-that-readers-are-very-interested-in-how-things-are-translated/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
