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A review by katiemoten
The Metamorphosis Or, Golden Ass, of Apuleius by Thomas Taylor, Apuleius
3.0
Rating 3/5
Apuleius' outlandish tale of a man transformed into an ass is racy and funny in parts, but also repetitive. It's the repetitiveness, especially after the Cupid and Psyche interlude, that becomes tedious after a while. There's only so many times you can hear about an adulterous wife getting her comeuppance before it gets annoying. Why is it always the women who get the blame?
Aside from the repetition. Apuleius' sympathy is clearly with the common workers. Once he becomes an ass, Lucius sees life from their perspective. I could have done with more of that focus than hearing the tale of the adulterous wife told six different ways. I also felt the end of the tale came out of left field and the very end was rather abrupt.
Thomas Taylor's translation was dramatic and entertaining, and I very much enjoyed the Cupid and Psyche tale, which reminded me a lot of East of the Sun and West of the Moon.
Apuleius' outlandish tale of a man transformed into an ass is racy and funny in parts, but also repetitive. It's the repetitiveness, especially after the Cupid and Psyche interlude, that becomes tedious after a while. There's only so many times you can hear about an adulterous wife getting her comeuppance before it gets annoying. Why is it always the women who get the blame?
Aside from the repetition. Apuleius' sympathy is clearly with the common workers. Once he becomes an ass, Lucius sees life from their perspective. I could have done with more of that focus than hearing the tale of the adulterous wife told six different ways. I also felt the end of the tale came out of left field and the very end was rather abrupt.
Thomas Taylor's translation was dramatic and entertaining, and I very much enjoyed the Cupid and Psyche tale, which reminded me a lot of East of the Sun and West of the Moon.