Metamorphosising vowels in Ovid.

The stories are astonishing and listening to it as I did at night enhanced the pre-rational aspects. The narrator's vowel slides are scary in a different way, but not enough to dampen the effect of the legends. I like his voice and acting but it's best to be sure of an accent before letting it loose on the public.

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3 people found this helpful

very moving

I would like to defend the narrator: the reading may be somewhat old-fashioned, but the voice is handsome with the appropriate dose of drama, and the speed is just right. I got hooked on it from the start and know I will listen to this recording again and again.

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15 people found this helpful

Information On Translations And Audible Versions

At times, I like to follow in a paperback, but where Amazon/Audible identify translations at all, the information they provide is often unreliable. Tastes vary, obviously, but I prefer this version. It's hard to find, but was translated by Horace Gregory and published by Signet - up-dated from a 1958 Viking Press edition.
I can't help wondering whether some reviews have been misplaced? The reader is criticised for sounding pretentious and very Merikan, but to my ear there's nothing at all 'John Wayne' about his voice. He does a great job and, incidentally, has won a number of awards for books like the Sherlock Holmes stories. The idea that he uses an irritating drawl leaves me scratching my head. I could be quite wrong - each to his own and all that - but I'm VERY picky when it comes to readers. Perhaps the name 'Charlton' triggers 'Heston'?

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Wonderful Ovid, Over The Top Narration

The stories are crackers of course, but the narrator is portentous and slightly self-important which I found annoying. If you like a stately type of narration, it might be ok.

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10 people found this helpful

Turgid narration

If ever a narration has strangled the life out of a classic then this is it The quality of reading utterly killed this book and I would strongly advise avoiding this recording or be prepared to be put off classical literature for ever .

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14 people found this helpful

Bizarre accent

Sound like an american trying (poorly) to do an upperclass English accent. Huge multitude of characters make the book rather difficult to absorb in a single reading.

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2 people found this helpful

disappointed

couldn't finish it due to the pomposity of the readers voice which was extremely off-putting

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Painfully long and ages beyond our times.

If you are a historian of ancient literature, I'm sure that you can enjoy this book. But, if you want a good book, a good story and something to entertain your mind, this is not the way to go. It is too old to be consumed by the minds of our time. It has aged to the point where the wine has gone bad.

Many have said that they dislike the narration. I didn't mind the narrator. In fact, I think he did a good job bringing the flavour of the ancient Greece. But, the narration does not save what is a long and difficult (and un-enjoyable) book.

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3 people found this helpful