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Summary: The funniest "Classical" literature I've read
Review: A bawdy and hilarious tale of maturation and religious transformation - a pagan version of "The Confessions" of St. Augustine without the guilt.
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Summary: The Golden Ass: The Transformations of Lucius
Review: A true classic... A must for any Roman history buff... Anyone who finds an interest in authors such as Juvenal, Catullus, or just appreciate literature that originated in ancient Rome will love this book. Written around the Period called "Nugae" this is a true representation of how Rome was changing with the oncoming of Christianity. This book specifically associates with the Egyptian goddess Isis. It follows Rome on it's change from it's traditional belief system to one that accepted many different gods and goddesses. This is a must have for any collection. If you love ancient Rome then you will love this book!
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Summary: Too funny!
Review: Anyone that thinks humor began with the writings of Dave Barry or Lewis Girzzard needs to (right after they get their head examined) pick up a copy of this book. I've never read another translation, but Graves' version kept things interesting, full of adventure, and above all, funny!
Of course, there is that ancient Roman writer fault of injecting entirely different stories into an existing story, which means that if they refer to another story or myth (such as Cupid), BOY, are you gonna hear about Cupid! Still, the entire narrative is lighthearted enough that this shouldn't discourage most readers.
Oh, yes, and there's lots of sex. Every 4 pages, sex. Human sex. Donkey sex. It's all over. Yep, the Romans had the basic tenets of a "Porky's" plot right here--sex, slapstick, and adventure. Fortunately for us, the end result comes off a bit more concrete and dignified.
Fun stuff. Pick it up.
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Summary: Classic Transformation Saga
Review: Classic, compelling, timely, appropriate reading for the classic scholar. A must read that has never lost its luster!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Transformation Saga
Review: Classic, compelling, timely, appropriate reading for the classic scholar. A must read that has never lost its luster!
Rating: 
Summary: An amusing classic
Review: Graves has given us a very readable rendering of this classic. In brief: Lucius is magically turned into a donkey, but keeps his human intelligence. His first donkey use of that intelligence is to realize that he'll be safer playing it dumb. He goes through many changes of owner, but all owners ahve one thing in common. They don't care what a donkey sees or hears. This puts Lucius privy to all manner of stories, which are recounted here. There is a bit of tame bawdiness, but other stories describe a wide variety of exploits, intrigues, romances, and adventures. Lucius, the donkey, is involved in several close calls. In the end, he is restored to his human form.
There's no plot here, in any modern sense of the notion. Instead, this is a series of vignettes tied together by the donkey's bridle. That makes this book easy to pick up and put down.
This might be a good way to introduce teen readers to the classics. The topics (all but one, at least) are safe enough, with enough villainy to make the stories interesting, but with the good guys winning out in the end. Through it all, there is Lucius' plight, always bordering on but missing catastrophe. This isn't the most memorable story from the Roman era, but it's an easy one to enjoy, in comfortably modern language.
//wiredweird
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Summary: Four Gold Stars for the Golden Ass
Review: I consider myself a connosieur of the classics, so when I heard of an ancient novel concerned with sex, illicit sex, and illicit donkey sex, I decided to take a closer look.And I'm glad that I did. At the back end of the classical Western literary tradition of silliness, which includes such hallowed humorists as Chaucer, Bocaccio, Rabelais, Cervantes, and, in its divine form, Shakespeare, we find the one tale that may have excited them all--Lucius Apuleius's Golden Ass. The Golden Ass is filled with adventure, suspense, humor, and nonsense. I had a grin on my face most of the way through, and I got the feeling that the author did too. Tip o' the hat to Robert Graves for delivering an authentic translation that brings us Apuleius in his bawdy best. The only thing I found occasionally irritating was that, like Cervantes, Apuleius has a tendency to digress. Big time. He inserts the entire myth of Cupid and Psyche right into the middle of the narrative, for example. Does this add to the mythological message of the whole? Probably, but it subtracts from the fantastic flow of the story. My urgent plea to Apuleius, were he alive today, would be, "Stick to the ass!" There are a number of reasons that traditionally bring people to this book: to study Classical Rome, classic literature, mythology, psychology... maybe you're curious about the intimate lives of donkeys. Whatever has brought you to this novel, now that you're going to read it, perhaps the best thing to do is to take the advice of the author himself, who says, "Read on and enjoy yourself!"
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Summary: Definitely not a pain in the ass...
Review: I read The Golden Ass for a Classic art course I took while at university I loved it! It is fun, entertaining and comical- not your typical dry Roman read. It is a great story and a great look into history.I highly recommend this tale to anyone who not wants to laugh but is interested in an important text from antiquity.
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Summary: Amazing, Timeless
Review: I really loved this book and have recommended it to many (unfortunately none have taken me up on it). I had to read this for my History of Western Civilization class in college. I thought it was going to be boring and dry, but soon found myself consumed by it. It's hilarious, fast-paced, romantic and thought provoking. What impressed me most was that a person of today can easily relate to the way Apuleius thinks and acts. I had always imagined Greeks walking around in togas endlessly philosiphizing in white marble temples, but here we are presented with the how similar our thoughts and daily activities are to how theirs were. It allowed me to see historical figures in a new way. I think that being able to laugh (heartily) at the same jokes is indicative of how alike our minds are to theirs. Again I recommend this to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing, Timeless
Review: I really loved this book and have recommended it to many (unfortunately none have taken me up on it). I had to read this for my History of Western Civilization class in college. I thought it was going to be boring and dry, but soon found myself consumed by it. It's hilarious, fast-paced, romantic and thought provoking. What impressed me most was that a person of today can easily relate to the way Apuleius thinks and acts. I had always imagined Greeks walking around in togas endlessly philosiphizing in white marble temples, but here we are presented with the how similar our thoughts and daily activities are to how theirs were. It allowed me to see historical figures in a new way. I think that being able to laugh (heartily) at the same jokes is indicative of how alike our minds are to theirs. Again I recommend this to everyone.
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