Familia Mala: Saturnus et Iuppiter

Familia Mala #1

by Andrew Olimpi

They're the original dysfunctional family! Rivalry! Jealousy! Poison! Betrayal! Gods! Titans! Cyclopes! Monsters! Magical Goats! Read all about the trials and tribulations of Greek mythology's original royal family! Suitable for all novice Latin readers in their first year of study (and beyond), this novella is an adaption of myth of Saturn (Chronos) and his children retold into easy Latin. The book only assumes a vocabulary of 95 unique words.

Genres: Mythology

99 pages, Paperback

Published April 6, 2018

Reviews

[Anna Erbter]

not them having a festival celebrating Saturn ( chronos) 🙄 annoyed even if that festival is kind of cool

[Lucía C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iucundus libellus ut linguae Latinae discipuli textus latinos legant et mythologiam discant. Titani, dei deaeque fabulam belli Titanorum referunt, perfacillibus cum sententiis necnon paucis vocabulis. Sunt et explanationes in singulis paginis et index vocabulorum in fabullae fine.
Delecta non sum imaginibus, quae nimis sunt pueriles, quamquam satis habent utilitatem. Sententiae non perlatinae sunt; auctoris enim lingua —Anglica, ut credo— potest videri inter verba Latina (exempli gratia, necesse non est semper subjectum uti, singulis in sententiis), sed generatim mihi placuit et sine dubio in scholis meis legam. 👍🏼

[Floor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het Latijn bevat een paar foutjes, maar het verhaal is leuk en volgens de principes van het actief Latijn opgeschreven: veel plaatjes en herhaling van woorden. Ook voor mensen die weinig of lang geleden Latijn hebben geleerd, is het goed te lezen. Veel succeservaringen dus qua tekstbegrip en je doet ook meteen meer kennis op over de Romeinse goden!

[S☀️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really good but I think I would like it better if I knew more Latin and didn't have to spend so long flipping back to the glossary to translate the whole book. Overall, this is one of my favorite myths and I think it was well written.

[Donna Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an EZ Reader in Latin -- I just started studying Latin about 3 months ago, and I was able to read this trilogy (Familia Mala, Duo Fratres, and Pandora). Each one uses a sheltered vocabulary, with some cognates, and still has a glossary in the back. So even beginners can read for pleasure in Latin -- brilliant! Thank you, Mr. Olimpi!

[Saris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book of my life

[Dana Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Level B (Novice Mid)

I didn’t like this novella as much as Olimpi’s Ego, Polyphemus. That story, as its title indicates, is a first person narrative from the Cyclops’s point of view. Familia Mala is also a first person narrative, but there are multiple narrators. Saturnus narrates the first chapter, chapters 2 and 3 are narrated by Gaia, chapters 4 and 5 switch back to Saturnus, chapters 6 and 7 are told by Rhea, chapter 8 is told by Iuppiter, Chapter 9 switches back to Rhea, chapter 10 switches back to Iuppiter, and chapter 11 switches back to Saturnus. With four different narrators and all the switching back and forth between them, it was difficult to care about these characters as much as I did about Polyphemus, the lone teller of his tale. Perhaps the length of the book has something to do with it; I’ve enjoyed books with multiple narrators (Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible comes to mind), but there is more time to develop empathy in a longer work than in a shorter one such as this. In any case, I’m interested to see what the author does in the recently published Familia Mala Volumen II: Duo Fratres and other Latin novellas.

[John Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was pretty hard to understand as it kept bouncing between storylines and characters' points of life. The point of view swap quite a bit and it gets a little confusing but definitely a good start if you want to learn about the life of Jupiter and his attempts to eat his kids. Pretty simple book as well and has a dictionary.

The author did a nice job giving context clues as to what a word meant such as very simple Latin words or pictures of characters doing an action. Definitions of new words also appeared so the reader would not have to check the back. The book was pretty short as well and although it had a confusing story line, it was still easy to comprehend what was happening.

[Ronan O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latin is clear and basic. Although the perspective bounces around, it is still fairly easy to comprehend. If you already know the story of the beginning of time with the earth, the sky, the titans and the gods, then it is a great take on it. And if you don't, then it's a great way to introduce yourself to Roman mythology. A very good read for a newcomer to the latin language and the culture in general.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Uranus, Saturnus, and Iuppiter in simple Latin. I read this with my 4th grade homeschooled children (ages 9 & 10) - there were some bits of grammar with which I had to help them, but on the whole, they enjoyed it immensely (and laughed hysterically when Saturnus devoured his children . . . maybe it was the way I read it . . .)

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great start to the series! I know I benefit from hearing myths and facts multiple times to get them down, not just linguistic structure, so it’s useful for me in my own growth in cultural knowledge too, despite the language being novice.

[Anneke Michaline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amusing and readable, this was a fun way to see a familiar myth once again. Although technically below my reading level, it was lots of fun to see how much I could understand without translating. It's definitely worthwhile for any Latin student with an affinity for mythology.

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

These Latin readers are a great way to be introduced to ancient Greek and Roman classics. Olimpi puts great hilarity into the stories making them extra enjoyable! The language in this book was very simple, and a 1st or 2nd year student will be able to read through it with ease.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun book in easy Latin about the fall of the Titans and the rise of the Gods.

[Tanya Brodd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a book IN LATIN!!! Great intro reader and cute retelling.

[Chase Grey · Rating 5 out of 5]

its good

[Cristina Pérez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Os dibujitos o mellor, librazo.

[Astrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun Latin reader! Looking forward to getting more in this series.

[Leila Chandler · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids really enjoyed it, though I did notice a couple typos. He also uses "habeo" a lot, in places where I think the dative would've been more Latin-like.

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute retelling of Greek/Roman mythology, but in Latin! It’s so fun to read, and the pictures are really funny too. I recommend!

[Rebecca Thomason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book.This will be great for students to enjoy, too. I look forward to showing it to them.

[Luis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quōsdam librōs ēmī ut cum Familiā Rōmānā legerem ex quibus hic liber est. Liber centum varia vocābula modo habet, id legere igitur facile est.

Multae pictūrae in librō sunt, aliae pulchrae, aliae minus pulchrae. Ex omnibus pictūrīs Sāturnī praeferō.

Sāturnus est rēx malus et crūdēlis quī fīliōs fīliāsque dēvorābat, et in bellō victus, in Ītaliam proficīscitur, ubi hominēs eum laudābant ut deum bonum, quī certē nōn erat. Sāturnus hominēs fefellit.

[Daniel Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Facile intellegere est. Multae picturae nova verba demonstrant, et historia deorum romanorum explicat. Me placet quod cum Saturnalia terminat.

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like these Latin novellas are getting more and more the same and also have the same Ada natgespoten a d disadvantages: funny story, nice for students to get involved in mythology at an early stages of language acquisition. But: I’m getting a bit tired of the switch of charachters and perspective for each chapter and I don’t like the lay-out with the big sized font (it’a for novice Latin readers, not novice readers) and the amound of bold script while also being

Olimpi uses lots of vocabulairy familiar to English speakers but not to my first year students, who use dutch.