A review by leesmyth
Metamorphoses: A New Translation by Ovid

5.0

It's truly cinematic at times, but with sly details and deflating humor.

Didn't make a lot of notes, but here are two toward the end:

Red Wedding? Check!

"It happened that an antique mixing bowl, engraved elaborately, stood nearby; though it was large, Theseus was larger, and so the greathearted hero hoisted it and smashed it into his opponent's face" (book XII lines 353-7)

Incels? Check!

"O Galatea, whiter than the snowy white flowers that decorate the privet hedge, richer in blossoms than the meadow is, taller, more slender than an alder tree, brighter than crystal, more skittish than a kid, smoother than a seashell on the shore worn by the ceaseless motion of the waves, more pleasing than the shade in summertime or sun in winter, swifter than the deer, and even more remarkable to see, far more conspicuous than the tall plane tree, clearer than ice, sweeter than ripe grapes, softer than swans' down or the curdled milk, and, if you would not always flee from me, thore beautiful than an irrigated garden.

Yet you, the very selfsame Galatea, are fiercer than an untamed heifer is, harder than oak, more feigning than the sea, tougher than willow wands or bryony les movable than the rock I'm sitting on, rougher than rapids, prouder than a peacock, fiercer than fire, bitterer than thistles, grumpier than a nursing mother-bear, more unresponsive even than the ocean, less apt to pity than a stepped-on snake [...]." (book XIII lines 1142-68)

There were many passages I read out loud with delight but did not make a note of.

My attention started to flag on the last half of final book, but otherwise I loved it.