The Golden Ass

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In its original it is a masterpiece of rhetoric almost for rhetoric's sake, a travelogue of those seeking a meaning for their passions, a set of intertwining romances conceived in their purest form as "secular scripture," and at its core a cautionary tale about perception and hypocrisy that turns upon itself. It is also meant to be read aloud for public guffaws rather than privately for a few genteel snickers. Rather than merely providing another perfectly scholarly but exceedingly dull translation of what is supposed to be a knee-slapper, Relihan digs deep into the spirit of the piece, re-creating Apuleius's slyness, plays upon words and images, and irreverence that cloaks deep faith. He also provides a well-reasoned introductions for those to whom Apuleius and his panoply of significantly off-kilter and fleshly gods are strangers, making it much easier to get the jokes.