Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome by Robert Harris Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Imperium: A Novel of Ancient Rome
Book Review: Narration's Scope Limits Story
Summary: 3 Stars
I've found Robert Harris' writing to be frustratingly inconsistent. While Harris is certainly capable of very good writing (Fatherland), he is also capable of some bad writing (Archangel) as well. So, it was with some trepidation that I read Imperium. Unfortunately, I found that Imperium is closer to Archangel than Fatherland.
Imperium is the story of Cicero's rise to the top of Rome's political structure. However, instead of having a neutral third party or even Cicero himself narrate the story, Harris chose to have Cicero's slave, Tiro, as the narrator. While Harris was probably trying to have a narrator to whom the reader could relate, he ended up creating a book where the reader finds out more about the storyteller's character than anyone else. Consequently, the reader learns about Cicero's character and motivations through dialogues where Cicero blatantly telegraphs his thoughts to Tiro. A master politician spilling all of his secrets to his slave, even if he was as close a confidante as Harris portrays, seems highly unlikely given the tenor of the times. Additionally, Tiro moderating the depiction of Caesar, Crassus, and all the other of the book's characters without the benefit of those characters spelling out their motives to Tiro results in those personalities lacking any trait which would make them memorable. Without memorable characters, the book itself becomes somewhat monotonous depiction of one political stunt after another.
The book does become more interesting during its portrayal of Rome's response to pirate attacks (the parallels with the modern response to terrorism show how little we've changed over the years). But, 30 exciting pages out of 300 do not make a good book. Unless one likes their historical fiction with few interesting characters and with a lot of tedium, one should skip Imperium.
Book Review: Wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
Robert Harris is getting really really good. This book is absolutely dynamite, full of great characters and some very memorable dialogue. Imperium is entirely concerned with politics, which made me wonder whether I would find it interesting, so I was stunned at how captivated I was. I also love ancient history and found Imperium to be very informative as well.Book Review: interesting but not gripping
Summary: 3 Stars
I liked this book but didn't love it. I enjoy historical novels and love legal thrillers, and so maybe my expectations were too high. I found the story and all the details of life in ancient Rome interesting, but somehow, the characters and the times never quite came alive to me. I'm certainly glad that I read this, and if you have an interest in ancient Rome, this is a novel you certainly want to read. If you are not already invested in the era, or if you are looking for a riveting page turner (only parts were), then I'm not sure this is something I'd recommend.Book Review: hard slogging
Summary: 2 Stars
I enjoyed pompeii, but I am finding this one hard slogging. The story seems to be a straight narration of political events from one viewpoint, the slave Tiro, and there's very little personal interaction, very little that makes you like or identify with any of the characters, or even hate cicero's nemesis. I got about half way through it and realized it was never going to pick up or make me care about the characters, one way or another and skimmed the rest. Book Review: Even in Ancient Rome, brains and ability could sometimes overcome social class
Summary: 5 Stars
Marcus Tullius Cicero was one of the great Senators in the evening of the Roman Republic, and many books have been written about him, both fictional and non-fictional. This novel is one of the best.
Cicero is something of a contradiction in Roman politics. He was from a wealthy family, (the "First Class") but not of one of the old aristocratic families that essentially ruled Rome for centuries. While we recognize that Rome was a republic because it had representational government of a sort, and no kings, in fact mostly only persons of noble birth could aspire to a political career in Rome, and it is no coincidence that the names of the great Roman statesmen over the centuries repeatedly bear the same small group of surnames. Cicero was an exception. His family was from the country, and Romans considered him to be more or less what modern day persons would call, from the "sticks." This story is about Cicero's single-minded rise to power. While he had the advantage of a modest fortune behind him, there is no question that his high intellect and talent as an advocate are what really enabled him to eventually achieve the Consul's chair; the highest office of the Roman Republic.
Robert Harris tells Cicero's story from the perspective of his personal slave and secretary, one Tiro. This device works, because Harris portrays Tiro as he must have been: wise, subservient to Cicero and devoted to him, and highly intelligent. Through Tiro's eyes we see Cicero, Pompey, Caesar, Crassus and some of the other greats of the times portrayed in a manner that simply rings true. There is something about Harris' novel that fairly crackles with authenticity. Many novels of ancient Rome fail to achieve this realism. This one epitomizes it.
The one disappointment of this novel is that it ends with Cicero's election as Senior Consul. There is much of importance remaining in the life of Cicero, and I trust that we can anticipate Harris' sequel, which will enable Tiro to tell this story! Highly recommended.