Using this new edition of all the curse tablets written, wholly or in part, in Oscan, is rather a chastening experience. All these texts are included in Imagines Italicae (2011), edited by Michael Crawford, and almost all were in Sabellische Texte (2002) by Helmut Rix. Yet frequently F. Murano provides a very different reading from either. This is partly because, where Crawford and Rix are both rather interventionist editors, M. prefers to reproduce the text as found on the tablet; but it is primarily a salutary reminder of the difficulties inherent in reading and interpreting these very problematic inscriptions, which are written in tiny letters on very small pieces of lead, often damaged in the process of being unfolded, and whose subsequent state of preservation is variable to say the least (the contrast between photographs of M.'s text no. 5 taken in 1975 and 2002 is truly disheartening).

One of the strengths of this book is the way in which these difficulties are made clear: the readings themselves are provided with a thorough apparatus criticus and often in-depth discussion of individual letters. Each text comes with sections on the archaeological context, its present whereabouts, epigraphic analysis and state of conservation. The plates at the back of the book provide many new drawings and photographs of the inscriptions. The major part of the section devoted to each curse tablet, however, is given over to a history of the scholarship concerning the text and discussion of interpretation, both in terms of the meaning of the words of the text and broader implications regarding the linguistic and cultural situation. It is this thoroughness which is the great strength of this edition: for each of the curses, we are taken through practically every suggestion for their interpretation that has ever been made. In the case of the longest text (no. 2), which was discovered in 1857, this results in fifty-six densely written pages followed by nine pages of tables providing all the different suggested translations for every word of the text.

Given the immense difficulties of a text like no. 2, it is impossible to see how its interpretation could be dealt with in any other way, and apart from the usefulness of having 150 years of scholarship, often now inaccessible and in a number of different languages, summarized and collected, it is almost shocking to see just how many and how variable the suggested interpretations have been, and still are, of such a text. However, the usefulness of this approach is somewhat undermined by the impartiality largely adopted by M. Apart from generally approving references to recent scholars such as Mancini, Marchese and Poccetti, there is often very little commentary on the various suggestions, even when they could without hesitation have been consigned to the dustbin — or at least cabinet of curiosities — of history (and in general M. shows little interest in how a modern understanding of Oscan historical phonology can help in adjudicating between possibilities). Consequently, not only is it often difficult to know which interpretation M. thinks is correct, especially since no translation of any text is proffered, but it is hard for someone not already thoroughly well-versed in Oscan even to be able to weed out the entirely implausible.

It must be noted that, in addition to a sprinkling of typos, and errors and omissions in the bibliography, there are a number of more serious mistakes: on p. 142 for <v> read <u> throughout; p. 143 for ‘l. 2’ read ‘l. 3.’; on p. 157, under the apparatus, for line 5 read line 4; on p. 196, ηερμα should be hερμα; on p. 215, ‘il mancato utilizzo di <h> come separato di iato’ is not well exemplified by the name Οταϝις, since even were the <h> present as expected to give Οhταϝις, it would not be between two vowels (in hiatus).

Despite the occasional difficulties mentioned here, this book represents an immense scholarly effort, which has the important effect of reminding the reader of the extreme uncertainty involved in both reading and interpreting these texts. It will be essential for all those working on Oscan curse-tablets. It is a shame that it is less accessible than it might have been to researchers in related areas such as ancient magic, or the ancient Italian cultural koine.