That's five stars for the Satyricon of Petronius, not for this particular translation, although the introduction and notes are very good. I have not read any other translation to completion, but from what I have read in the Penguin edition, that translation is better to my tastes. This Oxford World Classics translation attempts to lower the Satyricon to a "hip" colloquialist style that the translator thinks would appeal more to youthful college age readers. To me it came across as a stodgy classics professor trying to act cool. Again, the notes and introduction are very helpful for setting the context of the scenes and explaining some of the satire that would probably not be apparent to the modern reader.
But the genius and charm of the original could shine clearly through even the most inept translation! Satyricon is a Roman novel from the first century A.D. that has come down to us only in fragments. The plot is sort of a mock epic that revolves around a lovers' spat between two youthful male lovers, Encolpius and Acyltus, who fight between themselves over a beautiful slave boy Giton. The work is a unique creation from a wholly different cultural mindset that interweaves a high literary tone with the most bawdy, even pornographic subject matter. Even the fragments draw the most memorable, compelling characters in Trimalchio, the neuveau riche lord, and Eumolpius, the prolific but incompetent poet. Satyricon is truly a gem of world literature, even if a shattered one.
It's possible, very possible, that the fragments of Satyricon that we have form the bulk of the original work, but tantalyzing hints found in ancient sources suggest a vast novel which is largely lost. The pain of this loss can only be compared to those agonizing gaps in the fossil record that may never be revealed, or to the vague hints at wonderous creatures forever beyond our ken, such as the giant teeth of the Meglodon, which in the absence of a complete skeleton leave us only to wonder at how splendid this prodigy of the seas was in life. Thankfully though, enough of the Satyricon survives to bite any reader of taste and discrimination.
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Stained!
The book is great but it arrived stained! There was some sticky substance on it. Pretty gross...
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Marilyn Eyre
A fabulous addition to the classic section of my library.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 18, 2021Reviewer 1
The book has a huge fold on the front cover
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 7, 2020