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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
Meh... I only liked a few parts, but that is probably because my teacher made it fun to read. Those Greek god/goddess characters are extremely messed up. How in heavens name did anyone actually believe this stuff for their "religion"? It's horrible.
Kind of like Animorphs but instead of willingly changing into animals, transformation happens as punishment after having the audacity to be assaulted by the Gods
To me the translation seemed almost to close, to how we talk with each other today. Some parts after the middle of the book, started feeling like im told the ancient story from someone that lived during the time, and i could immerse myself.
Books 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10 were assigned for my Greek and Roman Traditions class. I guess I "cheated" a bit by downloading the audio book, but it was the only way I could squeeze it in with all my other readings. I was actually really pleased with the narrator and thought he really brought these myths to life. It was a fun read! Such rich myths in here. Also a chance for me to start trying to remember the names of Roman gods versus the Greek gods. Good mythic fun! Well, except for the occasional death and dismemberment.
adventurous
challenging
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
I love that the epilogue is just Ovid saying this book is so amazing Zeus couldn’t destroy my legacy if he wanted to, imma be famous forever.
Read this in Dutch. Very original reworking of Greek and Roman mythology. My favorite: the story of Philemon and Baucis (I know, I'm kind of sentimental).
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Wow! 1 month and 15 'books' later.
It's so difficult to rate a book which is just a tonne of short stories but I'll do my best. Firstly, I feel like this is definitely one of those books which you don't get a lot out of when you read it for the first time - I'll explain... I'd say about 25% of Metamorphoses is myths or characters which you either know of or have heard of, while the other 75% is a load of mumble jumble that you try to keep up with. So, for me, there were times when I was super engaged and invested, while on the other hand, for a lot of the rest, it was a lot of names and places and I wasn't too sure what was happening, nor did I care.
I'd say it's one of those books that you revisit throughout your life, for example I read Circe by Madeline Miller a few months ago and so a lot of the characters and myths in that, I recognised in Metamorphoses, so I could make little notes on things which I knew. So, I think as you go through life and come to learn different pieces of different Greek and Roman myths, whether that be from books, film, art, studies, conversations even, you can go back to Metamorphoses and read Ovid's account of that particular myth or character, and over time, more and more of it will piece together and become understandable in a way that makes sense to you.
The stories that I knew of and so enjoyed hearing were 'Narcissus and Echo' (B3), 'Pyramus and Thisbe' (B4), 'Scylla and Minos' (B8), 'Daedalus and Icarus' (B8) and 'Orpheus and Eurydice' (B10). And then some that I didn't know much of before reading but really enjoyed were 'Phaëthon (2)' (B2), 'Perseus (2)' (B5), 'The Death of Orpheus' (B11) and 'Galatea and Polyphemus' (B13).
I love love love aetiological myths, specifically ones to do with nature, so with that being a main 'theme' if you will, every myth that included this aspect was just music for my soul - even if a lot of it was after heavy and intense themes of rape, murder and incest :')
And now for my favourite quotes, with there being 15 books, this was hard to choose from, but here are some that I particularly liked...
It's so difficult to rate a book which is just a tonne of short stories but I'll do my best. Firstly, I feel like this is definitely one of those books which you don't get a lot out of when you read it for the first time - I'll explain... I'd say about 25% of Metamorphoses is myths or characters which you either know of or have heard of, while the other 75% is a load of mumble jumble that you try to keep up with. So, for me, there were times when I was super engaged and invested, while on the other hand, for a lot of the rest, it was a lot of names and places and I wasn't too sure what was happening, nor did I care.
I'd say it's one of those books that you revisit throughout your life, for example I read Circe by Madeline Miller a few months ago and so a lot of the characters and myths in that, I recognised in Metamorphoses, so I could make little notes on things which I knew. So, I think as you go through life and come to learn different pieces of different Greek and Roman myths, whether that be from books, film, art, studies, conversations even, you can go back to Metamorphoses and read Ovid's account of that particular myth or character, and over time, more and more of it will piece together and become understandable in a way that makes sense to you.
The stories that I knew of and so enjoyed hearing were 'Narcissus and Echo' (B3), 'Pyramus and Thisbe' (B4), 'Scylla and Minos' (B8), 'Daedalus and Icarus' (B8) and 'Orpheus and Eurydice' (B10). And then some that I didn't know much of before reading but really enjoyed were 'Phaëthon (2)' (B2), 'Perseus (2)' (B5), 'The Death of Orpheus' (B11) and 'Galatea and Polyphemus' (B13).
I love love love aetiological myths, specifically ones to do with nature, so with that being a main 'theme' if you will, every myth that included this aspect was just music for my soul - even if a lot of it was after heavy and intense themes of rape, murder and incest :')
And now for my favourite quotes, with there being 15 books, this was hard to choose from, but here are some that I particularly liked...
"Oh, how I wish that I and my body could now be parted,
I wish my love were not here! - a curious prayer for a lover.
Now my sorrow is sapping my strength. My life is almost
over. Its candle is guttering out in the prime of my
manhood.
Death will be easy to bear, since dying will cure my
heartache.
Better indeed if the one I love could have lived longer,
but now, two soulmates in one, we shall face our ending
together."
"Yet God helps
those
who help themselves, remember, and fortune favours the brave."
"Don't think me ugly because my body's a bristling thicket
of prickly hair. A tree is ugly without any foliage;
so is a horse, if a mane doesn't cover his tawny neck;
birds are bedecked in plumage, and sheep are clothed in
their own wool.
...
I've only one eye on my brow, in the middle, but that is as
big
as a fair-sized shield. Does it matter? The Sun looks down
from the sky
on the whole wide world, and he watches it all with a single
eye."
"Our bodies also are constantly changing and never
at rest;
what we were once and we are today, we shall not be
tomorrow."
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War
Moderate: Suicide