The Metamorphoses

By: Ovid

Narrated by: Charlton Griffin

Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

An undeniable masterpiece of Western Civilization, The Metamorphoses is a continuous narrative that covers all the Olympian legends, seamlessly moving from one story to another in a splendid panorama of savage beauty, charm, and wit. It marked the first attempt to link all of the Homeric and pre-Homeric myths into a single work and to carry the entire chronology into the Roman pantheon. All of the gods and heroes familiar to us are represented. Such familiar legends as Hercules, Perseus and Medusa, Daedelus and Icarus, Diana and Actaeon, and many others, are breathtakingly recreated.

Ovid was probably the most popular of all the Roman poets during the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and his verse was the inspiration for countless artistic and literary masterpieces of the time. Shakespeare, Bernini, and Rubens were only a few of those who mined his work to extraordinary effect.

Ovid has left mankind a magnificent achievement, and his sparkling poetry is a tour de force of Homeric and Roman myth. As Ovid himself wrote: "As long as Rome is the eternal city, these lines shall echo from the lips of men."

©2006 Audio Connoisseur

Not that translation mentioned in Amazon reviews

I think this source of audio book was translated by Horace Gregory, link as follow:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Metamorphoses-ebook/dp/B00328ZUO8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369420126&sr=1-1&keywords=horace+gregory

Caviar to the general?

A few negative (almost scathing) reviews of this recording gave me pause before I clicked to purchase, but I am so glad I ultimately ignored this (very bad) advice. This recording is a true gem. It is a GORGEOUS translation wonderfully read. I listened to the whole thing through twice in a row, and will surely revisit it soon. But first, onto Mr. Griffin's reading of Horace ... can't wait!

Excellent Myth Overview

I'm big mythology fan and this poem fit the bill. I loved it so much that I went out and bought the text so I could read along. Ovid has some stunning tales. Many that I already knew, and some intriguing new ones. There is plenty of blood and gore. The only downside might be books 9-11 which can get a bit raunchy. Otherwise, this is a must for any myth buff.

Cha-cha-cha-Changes

Ovid -- the David Bowie of Latin literature. I chewed on this book of myth-poems the entire time I was tramping around Rome. I was looking for the right words to describe my feelings about it. It isn't that I didn't like it. It is an unequivocal masterpiece. I'm amazed by it. I see Ovid's genes in everything (paintings, sculptures, poems and prose). He is both modern and classic, reverent and wicked, lovely and obscene all at once. It is just hard to wrestle him down. To pin my thoughts about 'the Metamorphoses' into words. Structure really fails me.

That I guess is the sign for me of a book's depth or success with me. It makes me wish I could read it in the original form. I'm not satisfied with Dante in English. I want him in Italian. I'm not satisfied with Ovid in English. I want to experience his poetry, his playfulness, his wit in Latin.

I still prefer the poetry of Homer and Dante, but Ovid isn't embarrassed by the company of the greats; so not Zeus or Neptune, but maybe Apollo.

Charlton Griffin's Metamorphoses

I listened to Charlton Griffin read an obscure translation of the Odyssey last year and came to love the poem after years of resistance. He excelled in that reading in conveying the voices of wily warriors and lowly peasants. Here he is reading a very different poet. He makes Ovid sound urbane, "cool," "hip." The poet wallowed in stories of emotional distress and extreme passion and deeds of bloods. Griffin tells these stories with relish. He doesn't create a vivid gallery of distinct characters the way Robert Whitfield did in his great reading of Don Quixote but he slip into Ovid's characters, men and women, in a quiet, smooth manner that doesn't call attention to itself, letting the hearer following along without any inconsistency of tone to jar him or her out of the story. If I got tired at times of the reading, it was because I listened to this long poem in a short time, instead of drawing it out and savoring it more. A fine performance.

Disappointing

This audio book was very disappointing and the narrator presented the material in a boring manner. If mythology is your interest, check out
"Song on Bronze" by Nigel Spivey. That audiobook is excellent!

Solid

This is a solid well done production. The narration was very good. The central theme of this epic poem is "things that change" and this is the thread which interconnects all of the various tales. Its full of very colorful stories and loaded with fanciful creatures and all the gods are there. Loads of beautiful Nymphs hanging about in the glades and shores of quiet pools...

Dull Reading

I love Ovid. Ovid always gets 5 stars from me. And I'm sure Charlton Griffin is a wonderful person. Unfortunately, he can make the greatest and most interesting works of all of recorded time completely uninteresting and flat. He reads as though he's bored with what he's reading. His readings certainly bore me -- and I've given him several chances so that I have several audiobooks of great works that I'll never listen to. It's a shame that so many of the greatest works in western literature are only available with Charlton Griffin reading them. Now whole new generations are helped to conclude that the great literary works of out culture are boring.

Werid pauses and skips mar good reading

The reading is mostly great but there are weird pauses and accelerations. Some of it sounds computer-generated. It goes great for a minute or two, then there are lines rendered like directory assistance. The rhythm of the poetry is ruined.

The Best of the Best

This is the version of the Greek myths that stuck, and for good reason. It's a delight and a wonder. It reads like a novel, feels like a romance, is full of anthropological surprises, defines nature, and introduces psychology, all against a backdrop of monumental action. Charlton Griffin is a masterful reader, who dramatizes these fabulous stories to perfection. The cataclysmic descriptions of creation, chaos, war and love, unfold like the most elaborately graphic CGI effects in the most spectacular epic ever filmed, that's how vivid this book is, with respect to the physical and supernatural world. As for the gods and goddesses - here's where the battle of the sexes began. In short, this Roman classic, penned by the poet who survived the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius and Claudius - but not Nero, is a jewel for the ages.

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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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.

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'?

disappointed

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