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vasha's review against another edition
5.0
A beautiful and exhilarating book. Prose to soak up, a complicated yet natural-seeming construction, and a vision of transformation.
blauerbuchling's review
5.0
Sicher eines der besten Bücher, die ich in diesem Jahr gelesen habe. Ransmeyer besticht mit einer unvergleichlich schönen Sprache und einer gelungenen Neuordnung alter Mythologie. Man sollte die metamorphosen allerdings vorher gelesen haben - zwar gibt es hinten ein sehr übersichtliches Verzeichnis mit allen auftretenden Personen und ihrer Verwurzelung in Mythologie oder echtem Leben, allerdings reißt einen das Durchblättern nach hinten eventuell aus dem Lesefluss.
dennesseewilliams's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. Dieses Buch ist streckenweise sehr zäh, doch die Lektüre lohnt sich. Die Metamorphosen Ovids werden in einer fantastischen "letzten Welt" neu erzählt, die Sprache ist wunderschön und inspirierend.
mgrey15's review against another edition
4.0
Non-spoiler version: Cotta goes to Tomis after he hears a rumor that Ovid is dead. It's an interesting thought and Cotta adventure in Tomis is rather remarkable.
Spoiler version:
Cotta goes to Tomis and encounters the Metamorphoses. Virtually all the characters are named for characters from the Metamorphoses in some way, or recall Meta. characters. It's a really inventive and fun imagining of Tomis and Cotta's visit to the Black Sea. It's a bit odd at points and the end was, for me, a bit unsatisfying, but it makes sense in a lot of ways. Definitely a fun read for anyone familiar with Ovid's Metamorphoses.
Spoiler version:
Cotta goes to Tomis and encounters the Metamorphoses. Virtually all the characters are named for characters from the Metamorphoses in some way, or recall Meta. characters. It's a really inventive and fun imagining of Tomis and Cotta's visit to the Black Sea. It's a bit odd at points and the end was, for me, a bit unsatisfying, but it makes sense in a lot of ways. Definitely a fun read for anyone familiar with Ovid's Metamorphoses.
cnyreader's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure how to describe this story, other than to say it is a modern take on Ovid's exile from Rome, as discovered by Cotta, a follower of Ovid's and one dedicated to finding him. This takes him to Tomi, the town of iron, that is emerging from two year's of winter.
The book is sumptuous, beautiful in imagery and prose. I felt myself sinking into the story, into this strange and bizarre world where characters from Greek and Roman mythology populate a tiny, dying town of exiles. There are so many layers of meaning here, and while sometimes I feel like the process of interpretation is tedious and feels a little like homework, I really liked doing a little research about this book. It made me appreciate the skill of Ransmayr that much more.
Food: a banquet, an absolute feast for all the senses, full of exotic food and beverage.
The book is sumptuous, beautiful in imagery and prose. I felt myself sinking into the story, into this strange and bizarre world where characters from Greek and Roman mythology populate a tiny, dying town of exiles. There are so many layers of meaning here, and while sometimes I feel like the process of interpretation is tedious and feels a little like homework, I really liked doing a little research about this book. It made me appreciate the skill of Ransmayr that much more.
Food: a banquet, an absolute feast for all the senses, full of exotic food and beverage.
thebobsphere's review against another edition
2.0
A man goes searching for the banished Roman poet Ovid and on his way he finds clues in the form of mythological characters and people who lived in Ovid’s time.
and that’s basically it.
I got bored reading this one and managed to finish it due to a five hour wait at Charles de Gaulle airport.
and that’s basically it.
I got bored reading this one and managed to finish it due to a five hour wait at Charles de Gaulle airport.
swdancer's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
brynhammond's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this fantasy on the Metamorphoses come to life, if largely for its gorgeous description. Ovid I remember for his soliloquies and this is a book without characters, so I'm not sure how 'like' Ovid it is.
The town on the Black Sea has early twentieth-century machinery, and these struck me as props just as you'd wheel them onto a stage, and set Richard III, say, in a fascist 30s Britain. This novel talks about totalitarianism through Augustan Rome. Cotta who goes in search of Ovid is a 'fugitive of the state', an objector/escapee. And Ovid's exile -- the story I was most keen to follow here was how he upsets the state, in his past, and came to be banished.
A shame my cover isn't on the edition list; it's fascinating and indescribable. For instance, there's a glossy dead fish with a string of glossy beads dripping from its eye. And there's a great gold-foil chicken's foot on the back. Against a rusty iron/mechanistic background: it suits the book.
I must comment on the disservice done the novel by its official descriptions. Mine says on its flap: "The Last World is destined to become one of the most important and remarkable novels of our time." Which is echoed in the Goodreads description. Says who? How to get readers off-side. I'm almost ashamed to be seen with this, lest my friends think me a pretentious twat. Don't blame the book for its blurb, people.
The town on the Black Sea has early twentieth-century machinery, and these struck me as props just as you'd wheel them onto a stage, and set Richard III, say, in a fascist 30s Britain. This novel talks about totalitarianism through Augustan Rome. Cotta who goes in search of Ovid is a 'fugitive of the state', an objector/escapee. And Ovid's exile -- the story I was most keen to follow here was how he upsets the state, in his past, and came to be banished.
A shame my cover isn't on the edition list; it's fascinating and indescribable. For instance, there's a glossy dead fish with a string of glossy beads dripping from its eye. And there's a great gold-foil chicken's foot on the back. Against a rusty iron/mechanistic background: it suits the book.
I must comment on the disservice done the novel by its official descriptions. Mine says on its flap: "The Last World is destined to become one of the most important and remarkable novels of our time." Which is echoed in the Goodreads description. Says who? How to get readers off-side. I'm almost ashamed to be seen with this, lest my friends think me a pretentious twat. Don't blame the book for its blurb, people.
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