Customer Reviews
Great poetry - but it's not Ovid - By: Roman Clodia, 22 Oct 2006 
I'm not knocking this text as like the other reviewers here I think it's gritty, raw & imaginative - but I do dispute the idea of it being a 'translation' of Ovid, because it isn't: it's Hughes own take on the mythology of the world. Nothing wrong with that, but just be aware that this is a work to be read on its own merits, & if you want to read Ovid then try the David Raeburn translation published by Penguin.
Exhilerating - By: , 12 Jan 2004 
I've never been a particular fan of Ted Hughes, but this volume of translation of Ovid's wonderful stories is nothing short of astonishing. Rarely has such meaty, bold, exciting poetry been written. The phrasing is exquisite, with raw, graphic imagery, & moments of emotional purity which can be deeply moving. Taking the original Latin to soaring new heights, this is a masterpiece.
a great and important book - By: , 03 Jan 2004 Read this majestic, exciting volume of poems as soon as you can.
It's a truly wonderful & brilliant work. The best book by a British writer during the 1990s.
Hughes's Ovid is better than the old Ovid!
The original Press reviews said it was a very fine book - even Steiner in The Observer! - & they were right. A classic.
The Engine of the Imagination - By: , 30 Jun 2003 Ted Hughes's translation of Ovid's epic is nothing short of sublime. He manages to capture the two abiding qualities of the original: its sinuousness & its crystallline precision. The magic of The Metamorphosis lies in it's calculated effect on the imagination; it is only in the mind's inward eye that the wondrous transformations can take place. Hughes has managed to tap into the magic & power of the tales for a modern ear. The language used in 'Phoeaton' & 'The Rape of Prosipina' is unforgettable.
Tense myth telling of the highest order. - By: , 13 Jun 2000 For once, hughes' voice actuallly adds to his poetry. A roller-coaster ride from start to finish.
