“I scoffed at such old fashioned notions as duty, patriotism, the military virtues. And here I was, aged fifty, standing on guard at the very edge of the known world. To protect what? A hundred or so mud and wattle huts, three hundred savage strangers who do not even speak my tongue. And, of course, my own skin.”
The narrative centers on the historical figure Publius Ovidius Naso, known as Ovid, who was banished from Rome by Emperor Augustus in 8 CE. The novel presents his life among the Getae, a nomadic people on the periphery of the Roman Empire. Through Ovid's perspective, the work explores themes of transformation, language, and the relationship between civilization and wilderness. The protagonist encounters a feral child living among wild animals, and his attempts to educate this wild boy become a central thread in the narrative. The book draws upon Ovid's own Metamorphoses, with its preoccupation with change and becoming, while examining how identity shifts when removed from familiar social and linguistic contexts. The coastal landscape of Tomis, rendered with precise natural detail, serves as both setting and metaphor for the liminal state of exile. The novel considers what it means to be human through the contrast between the cultured Roman and the untamed child, ultimately suggesting that transformation and adaptation are fundamental to existence. more
David Malouf is a renowned Australian writer, born on March 20, 1934. His works are known for their unique narrative style and profound insights into human emotions. more
“90% of what we do daily is not what we think, it's just driven by our desires and not potentials.”
“The failure of the citizens to pray for the nation will lead to its collapse.”
“There were no pure pleasures in this world that duty could not spoil.”
“A path once taken is easily taken again.”