Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Metamorphosen by Ovid

18 reviews

jgintrovertedreader's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Sexual assault

jadmers's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

It's pretty clear that this was, in fact, a draft of Ovid's. It has some interesting points though, and I wouldn't say it WASN'T worth it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Body horror, Gaslighting, Gore, Incest, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Suicide, Cannibalism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Kidnapping, War, Genocide, Animal cruelty, and Mental illness

franchenstein's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

It might sound cliche, but this anthology of Greco-Roman myths have a singular main character (who is very plural): Difference. Difference is manifest as all the desires - between what one has and what one wishes to have. All the gods and mortals lusting uncontrollably. Difference of power - gods can exert their desires over those lesser than them and nobody can stop them. Difference is manifest as change, as all the transformations that turn tragedies into legends. Difference becomes apparent through repetition. This is a very repetitive text. Most legends follow a certain pattern of someone desiring something, and as a consequence of that desire they are transformed into a different sort of being. Their becoming-animal is made actual by divine powers. It's a book of horror, as unbound desire and power means overpowering and assault and rape. At the same time it piously reveres the gods' powers, it also relates each instance in which they act as uncontrollably as the animals their victims become. The one who makes that apparent, Arachne, is punished for her talent.
This epic of difference is subversive to power, and yet it tries to amend its criticisms by praising the Emperor. Had it finished with the ominous praise to Rome that Pythagoras gives - preceded by instances of previous empires that fell - it would have fulfilled magnificently its subversive role. That last attempt of still praising the Emperor, deifying him, could taint this work. But a deified Caesar or Augustus is put in the same level as the bestial uncontrollable gods. Was that real praise?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Rape

e_ramirez_ortega's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

5.0

It was quite a feat to start this in January and finally finish it this month before the year's end.  What a read! It didn't disappoint.  Some sections require caution for young readers or for sensitive readers.  I found this deep dive into mythology extraordinary and one I'll never forget.  It is a good title to include in my classical reading repertoire.  Now for the next read I can't quite tell. There are many to look forward to as part of the homeschool but to immerse myself as I did into this one will be hard to beat.

Why read the tales of ancient history in all its flawed, disturbing, and horrid detail? Because it explains what people believed then and how much an ancient civilization needed a redeemer to pull them out of its doomed state of existence. 

Solus Christus 
Sola fide

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, War, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Incest, Infidelity, Torture, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking

alsira98's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Rape, Sexual violence, and Incest

puntifexmaximus's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Incest, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Body horror, Sexual violence, Stalking, Violence, Suicide, and Rape

Read in Latin and English translation

sunflowerwork's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

• Loveable characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Incest, Grief, Violence, Suicide, Murder, Kidnapping, Death, Lesbophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Sexual violence, and Misogyny

written_word_warrior's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

The translator uses too much inversion, Old English (Ovid was Roman+Greek), rhyme (which Ovid mocked), and meter that isn't Ovid's.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Infidelity, Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Sexual assault

theweepingwillow_'s review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I've decided to start doing relatively in-depth reviews for each book I read this year straight after I finish them to help me digest them better, I guess. 
This was both my first book of 2023 and my first 'ancient text'. I was quite worried about this being hard to comprehend as it's very long and very old, but for the most part it was extremely accessible and fun to read. I devoured this epic poem. 
Ovid really was ahead of his time with this piece, especially with the humour. The translator also did a great job of making it accessible and comprehensive to English-speakers. 
The theme of change was very interesting to explore, and the theme is persistent throughout the poem. Metamorphosis was used as a tool for freedom and for punishment within the stories. To save a woman from assault, she would be turned into a bird, and to punish the assaulter, he would also be turned into a bird. This was very strange and an interesting contrast. 
Some of my favourite stories include; Narcissus and Echo, Orpheus and Eurydice + Orpheus' Songs (Pygmalion, Hyacinthus, Venus and Adonis), Daedalus and Icarus, Daphne, Salmacis and Hermaphroditus and Iphis. The poem is separated into 15 books, and my favourites were the middle ones from 3-10.
There was a lot of s-xual assu-lt in this book, so beware that most of the stories do include it in one way or another. Some of the stories were extremely disturbing an gruesome, for example 'Tereus, Procne and Philomena'.
There was also a lot of queer subtext in this poem, which I loved. 
In short, make this the one 'epic poem' you ever read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Suicide and War

kingcrookback's review against another edition

adventurous challenging slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

In terms of the sheer amount of story, there's a lot here. And because it's a panorama of Greek and Roman mythology, there are many, many content warnings potential readers should be aware of. I tried my best to cover them all. I read this with the intention of getting some background on the Ovid references Shakespeare makes in his plays, given his Renaissance humanist education. So, it was kind of a fun game for me, being able to recognize a few things. I was also very big into Greek mythology when I was younger, and it's very interesting to see it through a Roman lens.

Ovid hates Ulysses so much, it's genuinely kind of hilarious.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Incest, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Body horror, War, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Animal death

Minor: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, and Drug use