A review by mallory_minerva
The Satyricon and The Apocolocyntosis by Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Petronius, J.P. Sullivan

4.0

The Satyricon is a picaresque comedy novel written during the time of Nero. It's goofy, smutty, horny and genuinely very funny. It's accessible and modern-feeling, and is one of the oldest novels in history, or perhaps even the oldest. It is easy to get into, and is not very deep in themes but is fun. There isn't really much more to it than that, it's just escapist and comedic pleasure reading, and proof that the Romans were capable of such a thing. The star off is due to Petronius's prose being somewhat dry at times. I've encountered multiple translations and this dryness does not vary from translation to translation, which shows that it is a flaw of the original text. That said, I enjoyed the story and characters, I felt immersed in the world of the Pax Romana, and I laughed numerous times. For that reason, this is one of my favorite books that I read in 2020.