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rebecca_bluedragonskeep_books's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
sapphire_mayo's review against another edition
5.0
This was an interesting read. I won't say that it was fast paced or particularly grasping, but it was still something I flew through quite quickly. I think that is due to the fact that it is a collection of very small stories, I believe only two of them were longer than fifteen pages. Most of them were connected to each other in very small or subtle ways which made it more satisfying. There is definitely a need for a trigger warning as there is mention of rape (though it is not detailed). I never found any parts of the writing to be sub-par, but sometimes it felt like the author slipped out of the time he was writing about and became noticeably modern. Almost all of these stories have a heavy gloominess to them but I thinks that was intended, it keeps it from being to adventurous. All in all a great book, I wouldn't say one of my all time favorites but definitely one I might re-read and would recommend to others.
elliejmatthews's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
lzanamiii's review against another edition
2.75
Most of it was quite boring to me... I enjoyed a Narcissus and Circe...
artdamnit_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
yasminsarah's review against another edition
2.0
Metamorphica contains retellings of Greek and Roman myths, mostly focussing on Ovid's Metamorphoses. I had read most of the original myths before and even translated a lot of them myself. Where this book falls flat for me is how it offers a new view on each myth, but one that doesn't really make a point or even make sense. I feel like when you reimagine or rewrite a myth there should be a point to your changes. A reason. A different meaning you want to offer.
The changes made no sense to me. At the end of the book there's a part called 'notes' where the author gives a couple of lines of explanation on a chapter. Turns out each chapter is only ''oh, what if...''. They're basically musings of the author on the myths. Sure, you can write about that, but it wasn't interesting and after each chapter I was unsure of what I'd just read. They're a bunch of short stories, but with no beginning, middle or end. They're too much like the original myths to offer a refreshing perspective or new insights, but at the same time they have lost the the core and strength of the original. Like I said, this book feels empty to me. There a words that form a sentence and sentences that form a chapter, but that's it.
The writing also made it very hard to get invested in this book. Honestly, the amount of times Mason uses 'and then he... and then they' is completely mind-blowing. Example:
''There was a moment of pain and then he didn't want to move. The grey sky through the black branches seemed unreal and remote - then they jostled him and he saw the wet sand inches from his eyes. He felt what might have been teeth, and then he felt what might have been a knife, and then he was just cold. (...) Then the women were gone, their cries receding into the woods,''
This is how the whole book is written. Not pleasant to read at all. The style is very lyrical as well. At first I thought it was pretty, but have you ever thought that you were reading, but when you get to the end of the passage you realize that none of the words actually got through to you? The style is so pleasing that it's empty, meaningless. There's so much wandering, gazing and floating going on in this book. Waves crashing, snow falling, fire burning, vague and cryptical conversations. I don't want to read 300 pages of that. The whole book is a bunch of adjectives and descriptions. There's no action or fire in the writing; there's no actual feeling in it. The book just seemed to drag on and on.
The chapters that contained myths I didn't know were incredibly confusing and I imagine the book is unreadable if you don't know anything or even much about Greek or Roman mythology. Each chapter is about a different person and the chapters have nothing to do with each other. There's no natural 'flow' from one chapter to another. But they are so vague that they can't stand on their own either. If you don't know the original myth, you will have zero understanding of what's going on. Even the chapters of which I did know the original story often made no sense.
The two stars are because it wasn't horrible, I guess. The writing is pretty, though not pleasant to read for 300 pages. At first each chapter was nice enough, but after a while they all blend together and become meaningless. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
The changes made no sense to me. At the end of the book there's a part called 'notes' where the author gives a couple of lines of explanation on a chapter. Turns out each chapter is only ''oh, what if...''. They're basically musings of the author on the myths. Sure, you can write about that, but it wasn't interesting and after each chapter I was unsure of what I'd just read. They're a bunch of short stories, but with no beginning, middle or end. They're too much like the original myths to offer a refreshing perspective or new insights, but at the same time they have lost the the core and strength of the original. Like I said, this book feels empty to me. There a words that form a sentence and sentences that form a chapter, but that's it.
The writing also made it very hard to get invested in this book. Honestly, the amount of times Mason uses 'and then he... and then they' is completely mind-blowing. Example:
''There was a moment of pain and then he didn't want to move. The grey sky through the black branches seemed unreal and remote - then they jostled him and he saw the wet sand inches from his eyes. He felt what might have been teeth, and then he felt what might have been a knife, and then he was just cold. (...) Then the women were gone, their cries receding into the woods,''
This is how the whole book is written. Not pleasant to read at all. The style is very lyrical as well. At first I thought it was pretty, but have you ever thought that you were reading, but when you get to the end of the passage you realize that none of the words actually got through to you? The style is so pleasing that it's empty, meaningless. There's so much wandering, gazing and floating going on in this book. Waves crashing, snow falling, fire burning, vague and cryptical conversations. I don't want to read 300 pages of that. The whole book is a bunch of adjectives and descriptions. There's no action or fire in the writing; there's no actual feeling in it. The book just seemed to drag on and on.
The chapters that contained myths I didn't know were incredibly confusing and I imagine the book is unreadable if you don't know anything or even much about Greek or Roman mythology. Each chapter is about a different person and the chapters have nothing to do with each other. There's no natural 'flow' from one chapter to another. But they are so vague that they can't stand on their own either. If you don't know the original myth, you will have zero understanding of what's going on. Even the chapters of which I did know the original story often made no sense.
The two stars are because it wasn't horrible, I guess. The writing is pretty, though not pleasant to read for 300 pages. At first each chapter was nice enough, but after a while they all blend together and become meaningless. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
seawarrior's review
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Metamorphica weaves a gorgeous tapestry of Ovid's well-known tragic subjects, all while creatively and cleverly reimagining their stories. Mason's words are light and atmospheric, poetically depicting the beauty and the horror of these ancient myths. His style is consistent but his voice is not overbearing, as he allows each character to tell their own tale through first person perspective. The length and tone of each story varied, but I was immersed by them all, and look forward to reading more of Mason's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Incest
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, War, Misogyny, Murder, Gore, and Infidelity
laura_trap's review against another edition
5.0
Greek myth, in some form, has lasted thousands of years and even now still holds an intense fascination. They really are seamless, timeless stories. Mason expertly crafted slightly new, subtle retellings of some of Ovid's famous tales, and at the heart of them all is transformation and change. The style is similar to vignette, all very short, brief, but impactful. I really enjoyed the imaginative yet subtle play within each of the stories, the gods present but also floating through each page, abstract and distant. The entire book is very prose like and in many ways hypnotic, like it would be easy to recite these tales around a fire in the black night, on a beach, returning from war, or starting out on a hunt. They seemed very polished, varnished in time because while many of these stories held an edge of the familiar, there was something new and different about them. Mason wrote for a modern writer, using very old stories, and I enjoyed that the most about the book. In some cases, such as Atalanta and Athena, he brushed off the antique patriarchy and added a new modern femininity to them. He didn't try to stuff the stories in a pigeon hole by relying too much on ancient traditions and themes. The themes were very much modern, dealing with desire, fear of death, wonder, love, and change in middle age. I also really enjoyed his characterization of some of the well known entities of ancient myth - Narcissus, Adonis, Tiresias, Death. Each story felt original, unique, but still familiar. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would definitely pick this up to explore again.
svetasunshine's review against another edition
2.0
I disliked the writing style (it felt too simple and too complicated at the same time? I don't know if it's maybe because English isn't my first language?). Also, am I the only one who hates the way this author writes women? Such a disappointing read.
graywacke's review against another edition
2.0
43. Metamorphica (audio) by Zachary Mason
Readers: Bronson Pinchot, Kevin Kenerly, Robertson Dean, Will Damron, Xe Sands, Amy Landon, Kate Reading, Robin Miles
published: 2018
format: 6:31 Libby audiobook (~181 pages, 304 pages in hardcover)
acquired: Library
listened: Aug 8-16
rating: 2½
A very recent promising release with some super positive professional reviews, a beautiful hardcover (which I've only seen as pictures), and, for audio, an elaborate audiobook cast with several very good readers. I feel bad not joining the party and lumping on the praise.
Mason has a nice idea and poetic writing style. He uses Ovid as inspiration and re-writes an expansive variety of mythological stories in his own way. He changes the stories in ways he likes, and presents contemporary sounding voices, mostly in the style of first person confessionals of a sort. He includes notes with explanations for some of the story changes he chose.
I liked revisiting all these stories, but I never took to how Mason tells them. Worse, I got bored and annoyed. But I can't say they were bad, more they weren't for me. I can pick out a few things that I maybe didn't like. The style is unoriginal, the stories feel very similar in many aspects, and so many are open ended with a with characters staring into the vast emptiness and depths of no-meaning, but he only pulls this last bit off with, for me, mild interest...over and over again. And, finally, his poetic voice did nothing for me. He has a nice vocab, but it felt to me like he was trying to sound lyrical but instead managed to sound like weak imitation. So, that's a lot of criticism.
What to make of this? Well, my criticism are very moody and I do hope no one takes them too seriously. I honestly am not sure why I didn't like this book. I'm curious how my response will compare with that of other readers, especially those holding that nice hardcover in their hands.
Readers: Bronson Pinchot, Kevin Kenerly, Robertson Dean, Will Damron, Xe Sands, Amy Landon, Kate Reading, Robin Miles
published: 2018
format: 6:31 Libby audiobook (~181 pages, 304 pages in hardcover)
acquired: Library
listened: Aug 8-16
rating: 2½
A very recent promising release with some super positive professional reviews, a beautiful hardcover (which I've only seen as pictures), and, for audio, an elaborate audiobook cast with several very good readers. I feel bad not joining the party and lumping on the praise.
Mason has a nice idea and poetic writing style. He uses Ovid as inspiration and re-writes an expansive variety of mythological stories in his own way. He changes the stories in ways he likes, and presents contemporary sounding voices, mostly in the style of first person confessionals of a sort. He includes notes with explanations for some of the story changes he chose.
I liked revisiting all these stories, but I never took to how Mason tells them. Worse, I got bored and annoyed. But I can't say they were bad, more they weren't for me. I can pick out a few things that I maybe didn't like. The style is unoriginal, the stories feel very similar in many aspects, and so many are open ended with a with characters staring into the vast emptiness and depths of no-meaning, but he only pulls this last bit off with, for me, mild interest...over and over again. And, finally, his poetic voice did nothing for me. He has a nice vocab, but it felt to me like he was trying to sound lyrical but instead managed to sound like weak imitation. So, that's a lot of criticism.
What to make of this? Well, my criticism are very moody and I do hope no one takes them too seriously. I honestly am not sure why I didn't like this book. I'm curious how my response will compare with that of other readers, especially those holding that nice hardcover in their hands.