The Golden Ass (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

Apuleius

3.86

15,521 ratings by Goodreads

9780140440119: The Golden Ass (Penguin Classics)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140440119 ISBN 13: 9780140440119

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 1976

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

This thoroughly entertaining mixture of magic, farce, religion and mythology is the best-known work of Lucius Apuleius, who was born early in the second century A.D. in Morocco, then a Roman province. Written in the racy, extravagant style of the professional story-tellers of the time, it recounts the boisterous, often bawdy adventures of a young man who has the misfortune to be turned into an ass, falls into the hands of robbers, shares their fantastic exploits, and is finally turned back into a man by the Goddess Isis. Robert Graves has translated it into clear and readable modern English especially for Penguin

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:

Praise for Sarah Ruden's translation of the Aeneid: "Robert Fagles, shortly before his death, set the bar very high for translating the Aeneid. Yet already the scholar-poet Sarah Ruden has soared over the bar... The translation is alive in every part...This is the first translation since Dryden's that can be read as a great English poem in itself."-Garry Wills, New York Review of Books -- Garry Wills Praise for Sarah Ruden's translation of the Aeneid: "Fast, clean, and clear, sometimes terribly clever, and often strikingly beautiful... Many human achievements deserve our praise, and this excellent translation is certainly one of them."-Richard Garner, The New Criterion -- Richard Garner Praise for Sarah Ruden's translation of the Aeneid: "By conveying the emotional force of the Latin, Ruden makes the Aeneid newly vivid, exciting, and relevant. This translation proves why, for centuries, Virgil's remarkable epic has been required reading."-Mary Lefkowitz, author of Greek Gods, Human Lives: What We Can Learn From Myths -- Mary Lefkowitz "This new translation of Apuleius's novel stands alone for its accuracy and cleverly farcical rendering."-Bookseller's Buyer's Guide Bookseller's Buyer's Guide "A rollicking ride well worth the fare ... marvelously, sidesplittingly ridiculous... It's a story, not a homily, and Sarah Ruden has re-bestowed it with artful aplomb."-Tracy Lee Simmons, National Review -- Tracy Lee Simons National Review "The most immediately entertaining work of Latin literature ... Ruden gives the reader a rich blend of the colloquial and the elevated ... [in] a very American translation that captures much of the fun of the original."-D. Konstan, Choice -- D. Konstan Choice "A cause for celebration on many counts ... We owe Sarah Ruden a great debt of thanks for [this] English translation that is no less inventive, varied, and surprising than the original."-G. W. Bowersock, New York Review of Books -- G. W. Bowersock New York Review of Books "Sarah Ruden's superb translation of Alpuleis's The Golden Ass illuminates this wonderful story with a brilliant modern wit."-Philip Pullman, The Observer -- Philip Pullman The Observer "[B]rilliantly executed...Sarah Ruden's new translation of Apuleius' neo-platonist romp about a guy who magically turns into a donkey...conveys how truly bizarre the style of the original is."-Emily Wilson, Times Literary Supplement -- Emily Wilson Times Literary Supplement

About the Author:

Robert Graves was born in 1895 in Wimbledon. He went from school to the First World War, where he became a captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and was seriously wounded at the Battle of the Somme. He wrote his autobiography, Goodbye to All That, in 1929, and it was soon established as a modern classic. He died on 7 December 1985 in Majorca, his home since 1929.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.