Book #7: The Golden Ass by Apuleius
Title: The Golden Ass
Author: Apuleius
Genre: Magical realism, classic
When my English professor announced that we’d be reading this in class, I’ll admit that at first I was a little sceptical. But really, I shouldn’t have been. I don't think it's the kind of story I would have been interested in if I hadn't had to read it for a class, but in the end I guess I'm glad I read it - it was very different from my usual fare, and quite different even for a "classic".
The Golden Ass "...is a unique, entertaining, and thoroughly readable Latin novel--the only work of fiction in Latin to have survived from antiquity [I read a new translated version - this one (the Amazon product description this goes to is mildly spoilery) actually. My knowledge of latin is limited to a few random phrases :P]. It tells the story of the hero Lucius, whose curiosity and fascination for sex and magic results in his transformation into an ass." He stumbles through months as such, trying to figure out how to find and eat roses, which would turn him back to his human form. During his months as an ass he has a series of adventures - "...encountering a desperate gang of robbers and being forced to perform lewd 'human' tricks on stage..."* and encounters with different people whom he helps or hinders in his own way. "Simultaneously a blend of romantic adventure, fable, and religious testament, The Golden Ass is one of the truly seminal works of European literature, of intrinsic interest as a novel in its own right, and one of the earliest examples of the picaresque" (The quotes come from the Oxford edition except where noted).
Not a bad story, all in all. A small detail I found interesting: at one point in the narrative, an old woman tells a younger woman a tale - the story of Cupid and Psyche - to comfort her. At first I thought that this was just one more version of the myth; however, I later learned that this is the first recorded version/instance of it. And since I am interested in all things myth and legend, this was a particularly enlightening discovery.
* This quote from the version linked to in the review.
Author: Apuleius
Genre: Magical realism, classic
When my English professor announced that we’d be reading this in class, I’ll admit that at first I was a little sceptical. But really, I shouldn’t have been. I don't think it's the kind of story I would have been interested in if I hadn't had to read it for a class, but in the end I guess I'm glad I read it - it was very different from my usual fare, and quite different even for a "classic".
The Golden Ass "...is a unique, entertaining, and thoroughly readable Latin novel--the only work of fiction in Latin to have survived from antiquity [I read a new translated version - this one (the Amazon product description this goes to is mildly spoilery) actually. My knowledge of latin is limited to a few random phrases :P]. It tells the story of the hero Lucius, whose curiosity and fascination for sex and magic results in his transformation into an ass." He stumbles through months as such, trying to figure out how to find and eat roses, which would turn him back to his human form. During his months as an ass he has a series of adventures - "...encountering a desperate gang of robbers and being forced to perform lewd 'human' tricks on stage..."* and encounters with different people whom he helps or hinders in his own way. "Simultaneously a blend of romantic adventure, fable, and religious testament, The Golden Ass is one of the truly seminal works of European literature, of intrinsic interest as a novel in its own right, and one of the earliest examples of the picaresque" (The quotes come from the Oxford edition except where noted).
Not a bad story, all in all. A small detail I found interesting: at one point in the narrative, an old woman tells a younger woman a tale - the story of Cupid and Psyche - to comfort her. At first I thought that this was just one more version of the myth; however, I later learned that this is the first recorded version/instance of it. And since I am interested in all things myth and legend, this was a particularly enlightening discovery.
* This quote from the version linked to in the review.