You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Review em português aqui.
The Age of Fable, by Thomas Bulfinch, is a work that aims to, in the authors words (translated from the portuguese by me), "popularize mythology and expand the pleasure of reading". If he succeeds in this, I don't know, but I believe it's possible to extend the pleasure of reading.
Bulfinch explains, in a very succinct and direct way, the story of many entities (such as Jupiter, Achilles, Odysseus, Aeneas, and others) and relevant events (such as the Trojan War, for example), allowing us to discover the existing connections in other works (such as Paradise Lost, by Milton) and making easier our comprehension of what is shown to us. This is what the author intends to do and, in some way, he accomplishes it. Many times, while reading The Lusiads, I would come across some connections to greco-roman mythology I wouldn't fully understand, due, in part, to nowadays education. It's unusual to study mythology intensively and most of what I know about it was obtained through studying Camões work. This makes it harder for us to understand and analyse various classic works and, ultimately, helps us running away from them: why would we read something we will not understand?
Thus, this book turned out a very pleasant reading: I understand some parts of the story a little bit better, my mental image of the various gods is more solid and I even discovered additional information that turned to be quite useful (after reading the Trojan War chapter I saw the Troy film, with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, and I understood it two times better than I would, had I not read the book before; same thing happened with the Clash of the Titans film).
But there are, for me, two serious problems in this book. It's true Bulfinch tells everything in the most succinct way possible (and I appreciate it!), but it always ends up looking like a mere account of the events: Mr. Bulfinch is right there telling us a story in a way any of us would tell somebody else. At a certain point this becomes boring and I almost started to wish he would tell those events as an actual story and not a simple summary. Initially, I blamed the gods (how cliché is that?): there are too many of them, too many names, always angry with each other (and I mean always) or with other mortals and it turns out to be a little bit confused. But the truth is Bulfinch is the responsible one for the writing, so my problem is with his writing, not with the gods.
But speaking about gods, this reminds me of two aspects that bothered me a lot: in the first place, more than two thirds of the book is about greco-roman poets, gods, mortals or events; is known that mythology is not limited to that region or time. In second place, very likely due to the first point, there were too many gods and their stories, at a certain point, were too much alike: Jupiter would provoke some nymph, or mortal, or goddess, and Juno would show up all angry and punish all of them in a very cruel manner. Or, instead, Minerva would have been challenged by god-know-who and would turn them into gods-know-what. This became dull, eventually, and the notes I started to leave in the book prove it.
Only the final part of the book turns up to be a little bit lighter, talking about some nordic, egipcian or modern mythology, but there so few things about it that I didn't even took notes.
Concluding: it's a nice book if you are interested in mythology and want some things clarified, but have in mind it focuses more on greco-roman mythology. It's also relevant to mention the portuguese translator, Odilom Cabrita de Sousa, whose notes are very convenient to complete the author's notes and work.
Note: please, feel free to correct any mistake I may have made. Thank you!
The Age of Fable, by Thomas Bulfinch, is a work that aims to, in the authors words (translated from the portuguese by me), "popularize mythology and expand the pleasure of reading". If he succeeds in this, I don't know, but I believe it's possible to extend the pleasure of reading.
Bulfinch explains, in a very succinct and direct way, the story of many entities (such as Jupiter, Achilles, Odysseus, Aeneas, and others) and relevant events (such as the Trojan War, for example), allowing us to discover the existing connections in other works (such as Paradise Lost, by Milton) and making easier our comprehension of what is shown to us. This is what the author intends to do and, in some way, he accomplishes it. Many times, while reading The Lusiads, I would come across some connections to greco-roman mythology I wouldn't fully understand, due, in part, to nowadays education. It's unusual to study mythology intensively and most of what I know about it was obtained through studying Camões work. This makes it harder for us to understand and analyse various classic works and, ultimately, helps us running away from them: why would we read something we will not understand?
Thus, this book turned out a very pleasant reading: I understand some parts of the story a little bit better, my mental image of the various gods is more solid and I even discovered additional information that turned to be quite useful (after reading the Trojan War chapter I saw the Troy film, with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom, and I understood it two times better than I would, had I not read the book before; same thing happened with the Clash of the Titans film).
But there are, for me, two serious problems in this book. It's true Bulfinch tells everything in the most succinct way possible (and I appreciate it!), but it always ends up looking like a mere account of the events: Mr. Bulfinch is right there telling us a story in a way any of us would tell somebody else. At a certain point this becomes boring and I almost started to wish he would tell those events as an actual story and not a simple summary. Initially, I blamed the gods (how cliché is that?): there are too many of them, too many names, always angry with each other (and I mean always) or with other mortals and it turns out to be a little bit confused. But the truth is Bulfinch is the responsible one for the writing, so my problem is with his writing, not with the gods.
But speaking about gods, this reminds me of two aspects that bothered me a lot: in the first place, more than two thirds of the book is about greco-roman poets, gods, mortals or events; is known that mythology is not limited to that region or time. In second place, very likely due to the first point, there were too many gods and their stories, at a certain point, were too much alike: Jupiter would provoke some nymph, or mortal, or goddess, and Juno would show up all angry and punish all of them in a very cruel manner. Or, instead, Minerva would have been challenged by god-know-who and would turn them into gods-know-what. This became dull, eventually, and the notes I started to leave in the book prove it.
Only the final part of the book turns up to be a little bit lighter, talking about some nordic, egipcian or modern mythology, but there so few things about it that I didn't even took notes.
Concluding: it's a nice book if you are interested in mythology and want some things clarified, but have in mind it focuses more on greco-roman mythology. It's also relevant to mention the portuguese translator, Odilom Cabrita de Sousa, whose notes are very convenient to complete the author's notes and work.
Note: please, feel free to correct any mistake I may have made. Thank you!
A most enjoyable collection on mythology, even though at times the stories were severely edited with one eye on Victorian sensibilities and another on space. One of the best parts of this volume were the quotations from writers that referenced the people and actions in the included myths. I loved the entries from Milton, Byron, Shelley, and Gray. While this is a good book, it's still important to engage with the original sources, many of which are very accessible. Homer, Hesiod and Ovid cover so much, and there are wonderful translations out there (Caroline Alexander, Dorothea Wender, and Charles Martin, respectively).
My favorite Greek entry was the story of Phaëton and the chariot of the Sun (p. 46-53). Two non-Greek items from northern mythology were really exciting. The first was of the Valkyries, female warriors from Norse mythology. The story says that light emanated from their armor as they rode through the sky, and this shimmering was the aurora borealis, i.e. the "Northern Lights". So cool! Also, I really enjoyed the story of a visit to the Giant's country (Jotunheim) (pp. 351-357). His description of the contests of Thor and his companions was excellent. I loved the comparisons to battling Fire, Thought, the Sea and Old Age (p. 356).
My favorite Greek entry was the story of Phaëton and the chariot of the Sun (p. 46-53). Two non-Greek items from northern mythology were really exciting. The first was of the Valkyries, female warriors from Norse mythology. The story says that light emanated from their armor as they rode through the sky, and this shimmering was the aurora borealis, i.e. the "Northern Lights". So cool! Also, I really enjoyed the story of a visit to the Giant's country (Jotunheim) (pp. 351-357). His description of the contests of Thor and his companions was excellent. I loved the comparisons to battling Fire, Thought, the Sea and Old Age (p. 356).
Being a Greek mythology geek, this was perfect! Apparently it's used as a mythology text book in school, which is cool. This was also the book that completed my reading goal for the year! A solid four stars.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A classic text on mythology from the early twentieth century, Very old school in focus but not bad.
I've read a LOT of Greek/Roman mythology books in my time, and this was probably the most painful. In the Prologue, it was stated that he wrote The Age of Fable to help non-Classic scholars understand the merits of the mythos because so much of it was referred to in other literature.
Bulfinch spent so much time quoting those other authors that the myths were broken up and disjointed. He also conflated the Greek and Roman myths, only using the Roman names, even in specifically Greek stories. I'm fairly sure this is a sign of the age in which he wrote, but it still frustrated me as someone who considers herself fairly knowledgeable about the writers and myths.
Bulfinch spent so much time quoting those other authors that the myths were broken up and disjointed. He also conflated the Greek and Roman myths, only using the Roman names, even in specifically Greek stories. I'm fairly sure this is a sign of the age in which he wrote, but it still frustrated me as someone who considers herself fairly knowledgeable about the writers and myths.
First of we need to understand that this book was published in 1855 for the first time. And for someone to actually put together this much of information in one place is mind blowing.
This book is a little encyclopedia for all the beginners in the field of Mythology, because it covers a huge portion of the subject briefly and in a very simple and interesting language with poetic evidence to almost every story and myth.
I highly recommend it for a first reference, even though it might get boring at sometimes.
This book is a little encyclopedia for all the beginners in the field of Mythology, because it covers a huge portion of the subject briefly and in a very simple and interesting language with poetic evidence to almost every story and myth.
I highly recommend it for a first reference, even though it might get boring at sometimes.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Po, maneiro um livro que tenha basicamente todos os mitos da cultura greco-romana num lugar só mas pelo amor de Deus que negócio CHATO CHATO CHATO, é quase impossível ler isso como livro mesmo ao invés de só como consulta ou enciclopédia, grande parte das histórias são totalmente desinteressantes, é bem repetitivo e a cereja do bolo é o autor olhar pra tudo isso como "obscurantismo" e fazer propaganda cristã no meio. Tem bem poucas partes realmente interessantes intercaladas com histórias chatas e curtas que depois de um tempo cansam bastante.
As referências "históricas" das poesias são bem legais, dá pra ver de onde essas coisas realmente vieram e é bom pra saber onde tem uma certa referência a tudo isso e como essa cultura influenciou tanto a literatura por infindáveis séculos.
É muito ruim também que o autor fica o tempo todo misturando nomes latinos e gregos, então fica uma salada de nomes tão grande na sua cabeça que é difícil lembrar quem é quem, não sou mais fã nem de uma nem de outra língua, pra mim realmente tanto faz, só acho que seria melhor escolher UMA e ficar com ela todo o livro.
As referências "históricas" das poesias são bem legais, dá pra ver de onde essas coisas realmente vieram e é bom pra saber onde tem uma certa referência a tudo isso e como essa cultura influenciou tanto a literatura por infindáveis séculos.
É muito ruim também que o autor fica o tempo todo misturando nomes latinos e gregos, então fica uma salada de nomes tão grande na sua cabeça que é difícil lembrar quem é quem, não sou mais fã nem de uma nem de outra língua, pra mim realmente tanto faz, só acho que seria melhor escolher UMA e ficar com ela todo o livro.
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No