The Last World: A Novel With an Ovidian Repertory - 世界・海外・国外の文学賞

作品情報

オヴィドの『変身物語』を底流に持つ寓話的長編。荒廃や断片化された世界を巡る旅を通じて、言語と記憶、存在の意味を探る叙情的で象徴的な物語。

Cotta embarks on a journey in search of Ovid and finds himself in a place where the ancient world and the twentieth century are one

A masterpiece

A little known masterpiece in a fine translation
A lasting world

I read this translation of Christoph Ransmayer's novel (Die letzte Welt) when it first appeared, and it was pure magic. Then, somehow, I lost it ... but am now delighted by it afresh after replacing it courtesy of abbooks. It is a retelling of Ovid in fresh and new way, in the spirit of magic realism, using gritty reality and deliberate anachronism amongst many other tools to weave a new story addressed from antiquity straight into the present psyche. Wonderful.
Five Stars

Met described expectation
Not nearly as good as many of the rave reviews, give it a miss.

Maybe its the translation, but it's difficult to like this book. I can see the authors intention, bringing a slice of Roman history into the modern era, but it just does not work. There is no sympathy for any of the characters. It's obtuse, meandering, fake mysterious. Not nearly as good as many of the reviews.
Five Stars

excellent