The Golden Ass

By: Apuleius, E. J. Kenney - translator

Narrated by: David Timson

"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.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©1998, 2004 Translation copyright, E.J. Kenney (P)2017 Naxos AudioBooks

2nd listen…still awesome.

Magical tale from Ancient Roman Empire. The theme of this book is don’t play with forces, you don’t understand.

Rich Kid fascinated with occult forces, gets more than he bargains for. They don’t make stories like this anymore. Wonderfully entertaining narrator.

Wasn't what I expected....

It was beyond what I expected. So many laughs. So many esoterica sprinkled throughout. When the Donkey was making love to the lady, I was laughing... And the Bear costume getting the knife.... Glad this beat my expectations, by a long shot... every chapter had me laughing.... RIP apuleius

Excellent!

This is a superb translation and performance of this ancient classic. Any fan of Mythology will gain a new understanding of a favorite myths.

relatable

if you're looking for something to entertain and excite you, will also having some of the best phrases in all of literary history you should really look at the golden ass. the stories are still very close to hitting and surprisingly they deal with a lot of the same things that modern people are worried about.

Hugely enjoyable

Hugely enjoyable reading of a madcap Latin classic. David Timson was born to read this novel.

Not Wiser…But Very Well Informed

That’s how Lucius, our hero, describes himself near the end of his odyssey in an ass’ shape. And the same can be said of anyone who has tagged along with him. In the course of this picaresque pastiche, we encounter all levels of humanity in the Greco-Roman world. Starting with the likeable rogue who serves as our narrator, we meet concupiscent wives, corrupt priests, malevolent witches, rapacious landlords, seduce-able servants, tight-fisted millionaires, profligate millionaires, even a legionary unable to defend himself from the fists of a poor old gardener. In his ass’ guise Lucius discovers that animals can be just as bad. C. S. Lewis wrote of, “…the peculiar quality of the [Golden Ass], that strange compound of picaresque novel, horror-comic mystagogue’s tract, pornography and stylistic experiment”, and he was about right.

In fact, it was Lewis who prompted me to listen to Apuleius. Last February I picked up his final novel, Till We Have Faces (1956), as a Daily Deal. Having learned that the book was written out of Lewis’ near-lifelong dissatisfaction with aspects of the story of Cupid and Psyche as told in The Golden Ass, I thought it would be a good idea to know that book first. Having just finished Till We Have Faces, it’s a course of action I can’t recommend too highly.

David Timson is, as always, spectacular. He doesn’t just read, he performs—and he has plenty to work with here. His Lucius is a charming, susceptible, morally obtuse young man who may—or may not—be a reformed character by the end; the final book has perplexed more adroit readers than me for the past 1,800 years.

Nicely read

A long lead up to the transformation of Lucius in Chapter 11. Funny tales leading to his conversion into the cult of Isis and Osiris in the end.

Very well read! Such expressive character voices!

Fascinating listen!! Definitely got lost in this one- there were quite a few scenes however, that many would consider extremely triggering to a modern ear. Strong story and message.

Magnificent!

A true masterpiece! Excellent story especially when you consider it's almost 2000 years old. David Timson's delivery is spectacular.

Awful translation

It gets to be a bit tedious hearing classics, over and over again, being translated into smug Edwardian, British English. Must that aesthetic paint be smeared across the classics?