The Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleius [ca.124 - ca.170 A.D.]What a great book.
I thought only cats were supposed to have nine lives, but this donkey has at least that many.
This book is great fun, I couldn't put it down for too long, and it is incredible that something written so long ago (18 centuries) can be so accessible, captivating, and hilarious to a modern reader. The events in The Golden Ass resemble the ribald, bawdy exuberance of The Decameron, and no doubt Boccaccio was somewhat inspired by the writings of Apuleius. [As was Salman Rushdie in The Satanic Verses].
According to the introduction, the adjective "golden" in the title implies "the ass par excellence," or "the best of all stories about an ass." The story follows the misadventures of Lucius, an enterprising young man who gets far too close to the world of magic, is transformed into a donkey and is constantly thwarted in his attempt to procure the antidote to his assness. It's human mind trapped in donkey bawdy! He had intended to become an owl, as his girlfriend did before him. Together they would then escape the city, and be together… but he drinks the wrong potion and then spends the whole novel trying to transmorgrify into something more decent than an ass.
Totally imaginative, classically written, hilarious fun. As a writer, Apuleius was literally MILLENNIUMS ahead of his time!
[NOTE: There are several translations available. I read the Robert Graves one, as shown here.]
What fun! My husband bought this book recently but I think I might have to give it a read too after your enthusiatic review.
ReplyDeleteOh I think you will like it, Stefanie.
ReplyDeleteIt is a real roar.
Cip