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The Golden Ass

By: Apuleius, E. J. Kenney - translator
Narrated by: David Timson
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Summary

"In this hapless state I looked myself over and saw that I was now no bird, but an ass...."

In this ancient picaresque adventure, Lucius, an insatiably curious young man, finds himself transformed into a donkey after his fascination with black magic and witchcraft goes awry. While trapped in his new body, he becomes the property of thieves, farmers, cooks, soldiers, and priests, and observes the hypocrisy and ineptitude of Imperial Roman society. The Golden Ass is considered the only novel to survive the Roman period, and the earliest novel to survive complete in the Western literary tradition. It is brimming with slapstick humor and sexual escapades, and foreshadows later works by Boccaccio, Rabelais, Cervantes, and Chaucer, upon whom it was a direct influence.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©1998, 2004 Translation copyright, E.J. Kenney (P)2017 Naxos AudioBooks
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What listeners say about The Golden Ass

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Great story wonderfully narrated!

This beautifully written forever classic was even more enjoyable thanks to the fantastic narrator! I absolutely loved it!

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Just like Monty Python

David Timson was perfect as Lucius - very, very funny. This audio book is a wonderful way to experience Apuleius. Highly recommended

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Newer isn't always better

For one of the oldest complete novels in history, It certainly isn't boring. A great read.

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Glorious

What a perfect reading, beautifully performed by David Timson, of an extremely funny book, excellently translated by EJ Kennedy. Highly recommended.

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Wonderful!

A super translation and reading of a very entertaining and amusing story. It also gives a fascinating insight into Roman daily life and religion. Highly recommended.

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Excellent

Very good performance from David Timson. I hadn't come across the story before, but decided if had survived a couple of thousand years then it was likely worth a listen.

Interesting background on pagan Roman times, mystery cults and attitudes. I also thought that this story had probably influenced many more modern classics (Chaucer's tales, Tolstoy's Холстомер, Franz Kafka Die Verwandlung probably many others etc)

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Interesting and entertaining

Both writing and acting are over egged. But still this is entertaining and very interesting for historical perspective. Incredibly good translation by the way.

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