The Golden Ass

The Golden Ass

Apuleius Apuleius

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

With accuracy, wit, and intelligence, this remarkable new translation of The Golden Ass breathes new life into Apuleius's classic work. Sarah Ruden, a lyric poet as well as a highly respected translator, skillfully duplicates the verbal high jinks of Apuleius's ever-popular novel. It tells the story of Lucius, a curious and silly young man, who is turned into a donkey when he meddles with witchcraft. Doomed to wander from region to region and mistreated by a series of deplorable owners, Lucius at last is restored to human form with the help of the goddess Isis. The Golden Ass, the first Latin novel to survive in its entirety, is related to the Second Sophistic, a movement of learned and inventive literature. In a translation that is both the most faithful and the most entertaining to date, Ruden reveals to modern readers the vivid, farcical ingenuity of Apuleius's style.


From the Forum

No posts yet

Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update

Recent Reviews

Your rating:

  • GaviaStrix
    Feb 19, 2025
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    0
    comments 0
    Reply
  • anastasiya
    Aug 21, 2024
    Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    oh gosh. read this one for school (last of four in my roman mythology class). and although it was short i still struggled through it. unlike the last ones though this one i just had a hard time with the story. a man becomes a donkey and then we follow his story throughout and he finally is turned back into a man at the end. i am not exactly sure how exactly this really fits into our class as the mythology was very limited. let's just say i'm happy to be done with this one.

    0
    comments 0
    Reply
  • View all reviews
    Community recs if you liked this book...
    Find this book in...