Ego, Polyphemus

by Andrew Olimpi

"Ego sum Polyphemus" Polyphemus the Cyclops' life is pretty he looks after his sheep, hangs out in his cave, writes (horrible) poetry, eats his homemade cheese . . . until one day a ship arrives on his peaceful island, bringing with it invaders and turning his world upside down. This novella, based on the works of Vergil and Ovid, is suitable for all beginning readers of Latin. This novella uses only 140 unique Latin words--over 90 of which are easy Latin cognates--making this an idea way for a beginning Latin learner with little vocabulary knowledge to read an entire novella with ease. Included in the novella 4 lines of hendecasyllabic poetry from the Roman poet Catullus; 3 lines of original dactylic hexameter poetry (modelled after Ovid); footnotes providing the meaning of difficult or unusual words or phrases when they first appear; a full Latin to English glossary

Genres: Mythology

82 pages, Paperback

Published June 27, 2018

Reviews

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scio solum in praesenti scribere. Mihi ignoscas amice, disco. Ex fabulis Polyphemi lego, monstruosus est. Hic pulchre vivit. Bona et mala habet sicut ego. Polyphemus cupit amare. Scribit malos versus dare puella pulchra. Ubi quoque vinum consumo, ego non sum triste. Volo esse amicum suum. Caseum consumere cum Polyphemo et Achaemenide volo. Haec fabula mihi placet, ego sum laetus!

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Super fun read.

[Bella Smart · Rating 3 out of 5]

very simple and easy to understand but it was quite sweet. Polyphemus is actually in love with himself though my god he’s insufferable yeah we get it you’re big and brave and have one eye Galatea still doesn’t like you

[Marconi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and enjoyable story of Polyphemus, the Cyclops. The vocabulary is basic (~300 words), the book is short and the author makes it simple to revise grammatical concepts while reading. Definitely worth the price. I'll buy and read all the others now.

[Addie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a funny book! This novella is a retelling of Homer's Odyssey, except it's written from the point of view of the cyclops, Polyphemus! Bits of Metamorphosis and the Aeneid are also integrated into the story.
This was an easy reader. I had it read in an hour, so it certainly is a beginning level book. I have been studying Latin for a year now, and I only had to look up a few words; which are included in the glossary at the back of the book, so no other books were necessary in understanding the storyline.
I will definitely be purchasing the other Latin readers in this series by Andrew Olimpi!

[Donna Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

During the stay-at-home order (around Mother's Day), I started studying Latin (on my own). Today, I read my first 2 novellas (this one and Sacri Pulli by Emma Vanderpool). Both were fabulously fun! My favorite part of this one was a character quoting a love poem by Catullus, and the Cyclops expressing his distaste for it. I look forward to reading other books by this author, and would recommend them to anyone wanting to actually READ (as opposed to parse or translate) a beginner-level Latin novella.

[Herennius12 · Rating 5 out of 5]

My students love this novella because of the humor—especially Polyphemus's awkward attempts at romance with Galatea. My Latin 1 students can read it independently by the middle of the year. I have also paired this novella with the Ulixes/Odysseus novellas (Errores Longi Ulixis, parts 1 and 2) by Brian Gronewoller. We stop reading the Odysseus novella when they first meet Polyphemus and use Olimpi's novella to give some backstory and depth to Polyphemus's character. Students have a lot of fun with it!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read in Latin. I'm not the intended audience for this book. I'm an adult learning Latin as a hobby, mostly on my own. Most of the time, reading Latin exercises is challenging and slow work. But this novella keeps things so simple that I can read it rapidly and for fun, while still learning a few new words and concepts. I like doing a few pages every night before I go to sleep, so maybe I can dream in Latin!

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ego, Polyphemus, libellus ab Andrea Olimpi conscriptus, rursus res gestas Polyphemi -- cyclopis praedilecti suffragio omnium, qui sodales Ulixei devoravit -- narrat. Sed multum hic invenies quod a Homero non narratum est! Scisne, ut exemplum afferam, Polyphemum poetam fuisse? Neque ego. Itaque lege hunc bonam fabellam!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Olimpi does a great job here of creating an engaging, high interest tale that uses a lot of repetition, but doesn’t feel repetitive. Yay! Think my beginning level 2 students would really enjoy this as a way back into Latin after break.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please won't you find me somebody to love! Polyphemus is a romantic post by self assessment. Unfortunately he is a Cyclops by nature. A monster with an appetite for greeks.

[Tom Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging Latin novella suitable for beginner Latin students of all ages.

[Alexander Parris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The humor in this novella is exceptional. A great tool for extensive reading practice in Latin.
Mihi placet omnēs novellās Olimpī legere.

[Leila Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny, and easy to understand, with a lot of repitition. This is really one of the best ways to learn. I'm doing 2nd Year Henle Latin and found this very easy to understand.

[Jeremey Banjo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heartbreaking in every sense!

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cool Latin novella based on the story of Polyphemus the cyclops (best known from Homer's Odyssey) . . . this was fun!

[Kookie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short but good. The cover reminds me of my friend

[Michael Staten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hic liber mihi placet

[Radhika Goenka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was challenging but fun to read. I found myself actually laughing at Polyphemus' dialogue and I think it's a great beginner book for Latin.

[Rebecca Thomason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this one even more than the Familia Mala of Saturn and Jupiter. I can't wait to let my students read these books.

[Dana Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Level B (Novice Mid)

[Tim R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished! This is my first Latin novella of the year and I'm really pleased with it. My son & I just started studying Latin together about two months ago and this book was a great balance of helping us practice what we'd already learned and introducing some new words to us. The story is really funny, and as we went chapter by chapter, it was nice to read something other that the same practice sentences that we'd been translating. I'd say this book is perfect for enriching your beginning studies in Latin, and I'm going to be looking for more by this author.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In hoc libro combinantur tres historiae Polyphemi - et ex Odyssea, et ex Satyricone, et ex Aeneide.

[Tavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Antē hoc lībēr, Polyphēmus mihi non placet. Iam Polyphēmus mihi placet, sed hominēm consūmit. Nēmō perfectus est.