Apuleius’ Metamorphoses tell the story of the young aristocrat Lucius, who is by mistake transformed into an ass and who regains his human shape after a long and amusing series of mishaps, erotic adventures and initiation into the cult of Isis. But the novel brims with other stories too, ranging from simple entertainment to highly sophisticated narratives, such as the tale of Cupid and Psyche, and there are storytellers everywhere and from every walk of life. To cut a long story short: speech plays an enormously important role in the novel. Yet, despite its prominence, a full study of Apuleius’ use of language as a tool of characterisation remains a desideratum. With her book, Evelyn Adkins has filled this gap and produced the first comprehensive study of the novel characters’ speech in which she demonstrates that written, oral and non-verbal communication are used to negotiate social status and power.

A. explores six different types of discourse: non-elite and elite (chs 1 and 2), private (ch. 3), gendered (ch. 4 as well as ch. 1), silence (ch. 5) and the novel itself (ch. 6). The first chapter argues that the bandits in book 3 and the priests of the Syrian goddess in book 8 appropriate typically male and, respectively, female language to forge their group identity, presenting themselves as heroic, masculine soldiers and, respectively, trans women. However, their language experiments ultimately fail: the priests’ feminine gender identity is interpreted as effeminacy while the gap between the bandits’ masculine discourse and their incompetence draws mockery. In the second chapter, A. explores successful and failed elite discourse in public rhetorical performances. Thelyphron's tale of his mutilation in book 2 and Lucius’ self-defence during the Festival of Laughter in book 3 are examples of failed speech as both characters lack authority and knowledge and are ridiculed and laughed at by their audiences. The wise physician in book 10, on the other hand, represents successful self-fashioning through speech. The third chapter turns to private conversations between Lucius and other characters in the novel, in particular his host Milo, in which he is keen to establish his status and identity as an elite intellectual but repeatedly undermines his own efforts. When he is still a man, Lucius is dominated by Milo in their interactions; when he is an ass, Lucius loses his ability to speak and his status, mirrored in his unsuccessful attempts at asinine communication and in his growing dependence on his various masters. Ch. 4 analyses Lucius’ encounters with four female characters in the novel: his aunt Byrrhena, his lover Photis, the Corinthian matron in book 10 and the goddess Isis. A. argues that Lucius’ interaction with Isis restores his control over his body and his speech, whereas the other women dominate him and accelerate his loss of self-control. The fifth chapter explores how Lucius’ loss of his voice allows him to gain knowledge, first by eavesdropping on others and indulging his curiosity, later through mystical silence as he begins his initiation into the cult of Isis. In the last chapter, A. turns to the novel as a form of discourse in which the narrator interacts with the reader of the Metamorphoses and vies for control over the narrative. Book 11, however, reveals that it is the author Apuleius who has the power over the narrative.

A.'s insightful book makes a welcome contribution to Apuleian studies and fills an important gap by exploring how language, knowledge and power are interconnected in the novel. It is thorough, well written and carefully edited, and contains an extensive bibliography. A. is particularly strong when she turns to the novel's lesser-known characters and episodes which have received relatively little attention from scholarship. Her analysis of minor male characters such as Lucius’ host Milo and the physician in book 10, who unravels the lies of the evil stepmother who (almost) killed her own son and tried to poison her stepson, is illuminating. Both characters illustrate how the novel grapples with how status and power are established through language. However, her discussion of the bandits in book 4 is less convincing, making the somewhat tenuous argument that Tlepolemus, who appears in book 7, regards the bandits not as masculine but as ‘hypermasculine to the point of effeminacy’ (58).

Equally stimulating is A.s discussion of minor female characters such as Byrrhena and the Corinthian matron, which shines light on their pivotal roles in the novel. Her exploration of the power relations between Lucius and the women yields interesting results: while Lucius is dominated entirely by the Corinthian matron, his relationship to the mother-like figure of Byrrhena changes from one of equality to asymmetry. The careful comparison to the Onos further demonstrates how Apuleius’ changes both strengthen female characters and, in particular, underline the matron's dominance over Lucius. In general, A. is sensitive to the differences between the Onos and the Metamorphoses and makes them fruitful for her interpretation of the novel.

Various readers will benefit from reading the book which highlights not only the importance of speech and language in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses but also the Second Sophistic's preoccupation with communication and self-representation more generally.