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gannent's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
3.75
I don’t have a classics background at all, so this was both really interesting and really difficult. Extremely funny to see that this was criticized for being aimed at a general audience, that is very much that xkcd comic about average familiarity with a field (“the average person only knows how to recognize the Greek and Hebrew alphabets” “oh and Slavonic of course”). I understand keeping the non-Latin alphabet for ancient languages because it’s a huge help for people who can actually read them, but for those who don’t not having a transliteration made me lose some of the finer points he was trying to make. But all of the broader points and even most of the finer points were comprehensible and interesting. I definitely learned a lot!
morena_sangre's review against another edition
A remarkable, incredibly scholarly and well researched look into the history of a fascinating topic. In order to gain respect and validity, Boswell had to present an unassailable case for his argument. The problem is...that requires a level of scholarship and understanding of Greek and Latin that renders the text truly daunting for a more casual reader. I would love to have finished this book, but the discussions of nuance in Greek words written in well...Greek...left me more frustrated than informed
jsisco's review against another edition
3.0
A lot of the larger picture was lost in an overwhelming amount of attention to detail - need he waste so much time on the concept of brothers and sisters? We got it, Boswell, move on. Is it also necessary to use the original Greek letters in every other sentence? If only the average reader of this academic text were fluent or even functionally literate in ancient Greek. To be sure, Boswell assumed he would be.
I feel like this had the potential to be a much more enlightening book. Unforunately, it failed miserably.
I feel like this had the potential to be a much more enlightening book. Unforunately, it failed miserably.
deeparcher's review against another edition
4.0
This book is not for the faint-of-attention-span. It's highly academic and covers so much more than just same-sex unions. It includes the history of marriage in general, to give readers a reference point for the ceremonies and traditions for same-sex relationships in the time periods. The book had huge sections of footnotes and substantial appendices with documents referred to in the text to aid experts in the field and had many terms left in their original Greek, Latin, Russian and Hebrew with no translation nearby. Even given all this, it was a fascinating study into accepted human relationships in ancient times and their evolution through history.
Anyone who wants to learn more about the history of marriage in general would find this book useful.
Anyone who wants to learn more about the history of marriage in general would find this book useful.
lunaseassecondaccount's review against another edition
2.0
DNF at about 80%.
I bought this book about five years ago, and finally last December I decided to chuck it in my TBR pile.
Look... I did enjoy what I got through. This is fascinating. Despite being written and published in the early 90s, much of Boswell's views are extremely modern. He mentions asexuality, recognises couples might not want children- it's amazing!
But blimey, the formatting is terrible. The footnotes take up the majority of the pages, and much of them would be better as an appendix or separate chapters. No translations are provided for the Greek words and text, and I apologise, but the lettering is a little indecipherable with the font. I'd have loved some wider margins for the quotes as well.
Maybe I'll try this again in the future, as I did nearly get through all of it, but I had to throw in the towel.
I bought this book about five years ago, and finally last December I decided to chuck it in my TBR pile.
Look... I did enjoy what I got through. This is fascinating. Despite being written and published in the early 90s, much of Boswell's views are extremely modern. He mentions asexuality, recognises couples might not want children- it's amazing!
But blimey, the formatting is terrible. The footnotes take up the majority of the pages, and much of them would be better as an appendix or separate chapters. No translations are provided for the Greek words and text, and I apologise, but the lettering is a little indecipherable with the font. I'd have loved some wider margins for the quotes as well.
Maybe I'll try this again in the future, as I did nearly get through all of it, but I had to throw in the towel.
balthazarlawson's review
1.0
Despite a certain amount of enlightenment, I did not enjoy reading this book one bit. It was too academic for me and how could it be anything other than that seeing as it contained 20 pages of ancient Greek text, pages and pages of translated documents and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of footnotes.
A large part of this book was about trying to understand the meaning of words, such as brother or sister, in the context that they were used and attempting to put aside the modern meaning. It also had to deal with previous interpretations of the subject and explain how they came to the wrong conclusion in certain circumstances.
This book is not for the casual reader.
Although the sub-title of this book claims it to be an examination of same-sex unions it also looks at the entire topic of marriage, heterosexual and homosexual, plus all the other forms of relationships. Combine this with an unclear writing structure, this book is just one hard slog and there were many occasions I just wanted to through it out the bus window.
Has it changed my out look on things? Not really and may have re-enforced the views I currently have about religions in general. Here is the place to express those views.
It is hard to recommend this to anyone other than those doing an in-depth examination of the subject of same-sex unions or marriages.
A large part of this book was about trying to understand the meaning of words, such as brother or sister, in the context that they were used and attempting to put aside the modern meaning. It also had to deal with previous interpretations of the subject and explain how they came to the wrong conclusion in certain circumstances.
This book is not for the casual reader.
Although the sub-title of this book claims it to be an examination of same-sex unions it also looks at the entire topic of marriage, heterosexual and homosexual, plus all the other forms of relationships. Combine this with an unclear writing structure, this book is just one hard slog and there were many occasions I just wanted to through it out the bus window.
Has it changed my out look on things? Not really and may have re-enforced the views I currently have about religions in general. Here is the place to express those views.
It is hard to recommend this to anyone other than those doing an in-depth examination of the subject of same-sex unions or marriages.
marxxx's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.25
A bit dry, and very clearly targeted towards a heterosexual audience disinclined to believe in the validity of Boswell’s claims, but otherwise very informative and enjoyable. Thoroughly researched with abundant footnotes. Definitely recommend if you’re interested in a very academic examination of queer history.
inthelunaseas's review against another edition
2.0
DNF at about 80%.
I bought this book about five years ago, and finally last December I decided to chuck it in my TBR pile.
Look... I did enjoy what I got through. This is fascinating. Despite being written and published in the early 90s, much of Boswell's views are extremely modern. He mentions asexuality, recognises couples might not want children- it's amazing!
But blimey, the formatting is terrible. The footnotes take up the majority of the pages, and much of them would be better as an appendix or separate chapters. No translations are provided for the Greek words and text, and I apologise, but the lettering is a little indecipherable with the font. I'd have loved some wider margins for the quotes as well.
Maybe I'll try this again in the future, as I did nearly get through all of it, but I had to throw in the towel.
I bought this book about five years ago, and finally last December I decided to chuck it in my TBR pile.
Look... I did enjoy what I got through. This is fascinating. Despite being written and published in the early 90s, much of Boswell's views are extremely modern. He mentions asexuality, recognises couples might not want children- it's amazing!
But blimey, the formatting is terrible. The footnotes take up the majority of the pages, and much of them would be better as an appendix or separate chapters. No translations are provided for the Greek words and text, and I apologise, but the lettering is a little indecipherable with the font. I'd have loved some wider margins for the quotes as well.
Maybe I'll try this again in the future, as I did nearly get through all of it, but I had to throw in the towel.