li3an1na4's review
5.0
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
A short epic about the battle between frogs and mice. Titled Batrachomyomachia in it's original Greek, the Romans believed the poem to be one from Homer, however other sources have attributed it to the likes of Pigres of Halicarnassus, Lucian, or an unnamed poet during the time of Alexander the Great. This is essentially an ancient Greek [b:Redwall|7996|Redwall (Redwall, #1)|Brian Jacques|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327877368l/7996._SY75_.jpg|486980] with the violent and gruesome sensibilities that is seen in both The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Frog king causes the death of a mouse which leads to an epic battle between the two factions. The Gods watch from above with varying degrees of interest. There are many Homeric influences in the story, so I can understand why so many people attribute the story to him.
The poem isn't just translated from it's original Greek, instead, Stallings put her own unique spin on it. The original Greek version was in dactylic hexameter, this version is in rhyming couplets. The LARB review goes on to discuss whether this is a translation, an adaptation, or an appropriation of the original. What was lost and what was gained when the translator chose the route she did? I think their discussion of that is far more insightful than anything I'd have to say about it. But for me, I think that the rhyming added a whimsical twist on a somewhat dark satire. It could have been grim and overwrought, but for me, the rhyming helped with really seeing how absurd it all was. Not just the fact that it was a battle between mice and frogs, but the situation they were in. Battles in history have been started over far less. It helped highlight the absurdity and added levity.
To me, the illustrations mixed in with the poem are what really helps bring it all together. The illustrations are gorgeous and simultaneously doesn't make the whole thing a joke, but also doesn't take itself too seriously. I don't think I would have enjoyed this half as much without the illustrations to go with it. In fact, at the end of the poem with the illustrations there is another version of the poem except without the illustrations - really emphasizing their importance in the story itself.
Rare for me, but I also enjoyed reading all the insight and information the introduction and the footnotes at the end of the poem. I didn't know there were so many folktales about frogs and mice being enemies. Nor did I know how important mice were or how often they were thought about by writers, philosophers, and thinkers. Since I am not a scholar of Ancient Greek anything, both the introduction and the notes also helped me understand all the nuances and references that I would have otherwise missed. That would have been a real shame because of how much those references add to the story itself.
I am pretty sure this is not something to read to a small child, even though it does resemble one of Aesop's fables. The violence and the death depicted in the illustrations is pretty over the top, even if it is between frogs and mice.
I had this at 4 stars for the longest time, looking for justification during the review writing process to dock it. But I have to say, this was a fun very quick read, I learned random trivia, and had so much fun with it, I can't find where I'd dock anything. It's ridiculous, random, weird, over the top, and kind of funny, with some great illustrations.
A short epic about the battle between frogs and mice. Titled Batrachomyomachia in it's original Greek, the Romans believed the poem to be one from Homer, however other sources have attributed it to the likes of Pigres of Halicarnassus, Lucian, or an unnamed poet during the time of Alexander the Great. This is essentially an ancient Greek [b:Redwall|7996|Redwall (Redwall, #1)|Brian Jacques|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327877368l/7996._SY75_.jpg|486980] with the violent and gruesome sensibilities that is seen in both The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Frog king causes the death of a mouse which leads to an epic battle between the two factions. The Gods watch from above with varying degrees of interest. There are many Homeric influences in the story, so I can understand why so many people attribute the story to him.
The poem isn't just translated from it's original Greek, instead, Stallings put her own unique spin on it. The original Greek version was in dactylic hexameter, this version is in rhyming couplets. The LARB review goes on to discuss whether this is a translation, an adaptation, or an appropriation of the original. What was lost and what was gained when the translator chose the route she did? I think their discussion of that is far more insightful than anything I'd have to say about it. But for me, I think that the rhyming added a whimsical twist on a somewhat dark satire. It could have been grim and overwrought, but for me, the rhyming helped with really seeing how absurd it all was. Not just the fact that it was a battle between mice and frogs, but the situation they were in. Battles in history have been started over far less. It helped highlight the absurdity and added levity.
To me, the illustrations mixed in with the poem are what really helps bring it all together. The illustrations are gorgeous and simultaneously doesn't make the whole thing a joke, but also doesn't take itself too seriously. I don't think I would have enjoyed this half as much without the illustrations to go with it. In fact, at the end of the poem with the illustrations there is another version of the poem except without the illustrations - really emphasizing their importance in the story itself.
Rare for me, but I also enjoyed reading all the insight and information the introduction and the footnotes at the end of the poem. I didn't know there were so many folktales about frogs and mice being enemies. Nor did I know how important mice were or how often they were thought about by writers, philosophers, and thinkers. Since I am not a scholar of Ancient Greek anything, both the introduction and the notes also helped me understand all the nuances and references that I would have otherwise missed. That would have been a real shame because of how much those references add to the story itself.
I am pretty sure this is not something to read to a small child, even though it does resemble one of Aesop's fables. The violence and the death depicted in the illustrations is pretty over the top, even if it is between frogs and mice.
I had this at 4 stars for the longest time, looking for justification during the review writing process to dock it. But I have to say, this was a fun very quick read, I learned random trivia, and had so much fun with it, I can't find where I'd dock anything. It's ridiculous, random, weird, over the top, and kind of funny, with some great illustrations.
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