These are superb stories

This is the first time I've read / listened to Ovid and I'm now a massive fan, his storytelling is head and shoulders above most of what I've read. Superb.
I like to listen to actors reading because they are so much better than I am and draw out the emotions and nuances of the writer so well. Two of the readers were excellent the other, the female voice was unable to pronounce the English words on numerous occasions and it spoiled the overall excellent presentation as her mispronounced reading became a distraction otherwise thoroughly enjoyed it all. Will seek out a different reading in future though. Highly recommended writer though.

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Why Ovid will be read for millenia

From the translator's notes you are made aware that this book is a masterpiece which rewards detailed study to fully appreciate it's subtleties and playfullness and variety on the theme of changes.
So, in one listening, I know that I cannot give a fully justifiable review but netherless:
1. Ovid's knowledge of myth and legend is vast and the number of tales he gives are quite overwhelming. The tone of the different narratives varies greatly and I seem to detect a real sense of humour within many, e.g. the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs (gory to!). Others playfully erotic and some tender and moving e.g. Philemon and Baucis (Such a beautiful story with gentle humour).
I'm sure one could spend a LOT of time exploring its structural links and contrasts, if you so wish!
2. Performance- I felt that the two male narrators were excellent, one capturing the stern drama of various intense moments or raised voices, particularly the gods; while the other's quiter delivery seemed ideal for scenes where events were developing quitely- he gave a sense of impishness to the proceedings. I'm afraid that some of the female narrator's readings did not impress me so much as they sounded like readings to young children. I think, like all audio books, it's a matter of personal taste. Others would disagree and we would all be right.

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a few annoying glitches.

chapter titles don't match the book, this is unhelpful when using the book at part of academic study.
It seems to miss out on the very first few words of each chapter. Having said that, this is very helpful with study when using this exact translation as a set book.

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2 people found this helpful

Narrators all excellent

There is so much to be said about Metamorphoses... far too much to put in a review. But, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook whilst also reading the hardcopy. The narrators are all excellent, and the fact that there are so many rather than just the one makes the admittedly long read even easier to enjoy.

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Disappointing

I thought the performance was on the whole fine, apart from one of the narrators who would shout quite a lot when sometimes unnecessary.

I thought the narrative itself was a bit of a mess, often switching inexplicably between times and locations, which in turn makes it hard for you to feel invested in any of the characters. The constant switching makes it hard for the stories to have any momentum or deeper meaning, and often the metamorphoses that take place are really random and not really linked to what’s happened in the story (turning them into a bird or a tree is usually the go-to).

I much preferred Homer or Virgil who deal in more coherent narratives that make you feel more attached to the characters

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unskipable explanations

before every chapter is a 5 summary of what you are about to hear. I could understand where this might be useful, but for me I wanted to experience and interpret the story myself. I always skipped trough these but because they are not separate chapters you can't do a quick and clean skip and leads to a frustrating listening experience.

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Enjoyable but marred by mistakes in the narration.

I've enjoyed listening (and reading along to) this book. However I bought the audible version to hear how the names of the characters and gods are properly pronounced but, in some cases, even commonplace names are pronounced wrong. One reader consistently pronounced Plumage ( /ˈpluːmɪdʒ/) as Plummage! The lack of consistency and adherence to attention to detail by some of the readers suggests sloppy editing and proof reading. The studio audio engineers need a higher proficiency when recording, rerecording and editing this text. It lowers the quality of the Penguin classics brand.

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19 people found this helpful