The Golden Ass

ISBN: 0300198140

Author: Apuleius

Condition: New

Acclaimed poet and translator Sarah Ruden brilliantly brings Apuleius's comic tale to lifeA rollicking ride well worth the fare, . . . marvelously, sidesplittingly ridiculous. . . . Its a story, not a homily, and Sarah Ruden has re-bestowed it with artful aplomb.-Tracy Lee Simmons, National ReviewA cause for celebration. . . . 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 BooksWith accuracy, wit, and intelligence, this remarkable new translation of The Golden Ass breathes new life into Apuleiuss classic work. Sarah Ruden, a lyric poet as well as a highly respected translator, skillfully duplicates the verbal high jinks of Apuleiuss 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 be 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 Apuleiuss style.