A review by jenmcmaynes
Metamorphoses by Ovid

3.0

Alternate titles: Juno is Angry, or How I Was Changed into a Bird (or Possibly a Tree). :) On the one hand, I enjoyed many of these tales of change and metamorphosis. Ovid’s language can be quite vivid, and many of the stories present startling imagery that lingers in the memory. Also, many of the ‘wronged women’ soliloquies had an emotional nuance and depth that felt almost modern as they debated love vs honor. On the other hand, the stories can be horribly repetitive (god is angered, changes person into something else, wash, rinse, repeat) and the themes of rape, jealousy, and war are hard for modern readers to stomach. Also, though my edition had copious footnotes, so many of the references were obscure that the footnotes could have been footnoted and it wouldn’t have been amiss. ;) This is not the fault of the text, of course, but is a stumbling block for a modern reader.

I’m glad I read this, even if I did find it a bit boring at times. The poems that I liked, and there were many, made some of the less palatable aspects ok. But this is not a read for everyone.