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: Best book I've read (of any genre) in years!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've read everything by Colleen McCullough (except her soon to be released "Anthony & Cleopatra"), Steven Saylor, and Simon Scarrow, and I can say in all honesty that "Imperium" is far and away the best of the bunch.
Oh sure, it's not perfect: at 300 pages it's a slim volume. There is but one scant map of Rome, nothing on what the Roman world looked like in the first half of the 1st century B.C. There is no glossary of terminology, useful for those not familiar with the late Roman Republic. And there's no substantive delving into Cicero's youth or his quaestorship of Sicily.
That said, this is a wonderful read! Mr. Harris is absolutely superb in conveying the biting wit of Cicero. For instance, the repartee between Cicero and his wife Terentia is so engagingly presented that I had to put the book away for fear of bursting out laughing on the crowded subways of NYC. This happened on numerous occasions.
Both McCullough and Saylor are much less kind in their depictions of Cicero, painting a picture of a brilliant but bumbling statesman prone to compromising his principles and oftentimes an abject coward. So it was a delight to read Harris's take on Rome's greatest orator shown in all his multi-faceted complexity.
I would recommend this book highly. But read it slowly, savor it like a fine wine.
Book Review: history, politics, savoir faire: intriguing novel
Summary: 5 Stars
it's just one of the greatest novels I have ever read; historic basis, the end of the Roman republic and the life of Cicero, are shown while narrating a very intriguing and passionate novel.
Everyone should read it and search for similitudes with contemporary history.
Very easy to go through, you wouldn't want to stop reading.
Book Review: Great History, Poor Plotting
Summary: 3 Stars
The best I can say about this novel is that I have a new and quite vivid image of what Rome was like during Cicero's rise. This is impressive, and mostly due to Harris's meticulous research.
Unfortunately, the novel itself is dull and leaden. There are no highs and lows, and no forward momentum = the plot proceeds at an unvarying clop-clop-clop and at times the writing borders on cliche. Harris has insights into politics, but none not into flesh and blood people. As a result all the characters seem interchangeable.
Book Review: Fascinating, Descriptive Historical Fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
Imperium is not only well constructed, captivating and accessible historical fiction, it's also an engrossing character study and an immensely entertaining courtroom thriller--all set in an ancient Rome with political and social issues very similar to our own. Robert Harris will have a very difficult time topping this one.Book Review: A courtroom thriller, set in ancient rome
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, this is not only historical fiction, this is historical POLITICAL fiction. If you are not into that sort of thing, stop reading reviews and don't read the book - you will hate it. This is indeed a novel of ancient Rome, but it is not a tale of major (or minor) battles or of sex. Really, only one relatively minor character dies in it, of natural causes. After all, this is about Cicero, who was a lawyer!
That being said, it is a spectacular work in terms of being as close to nonfiction as one can get. According to a little of my research, there is a strong possibility that Tiro (the narrator, a highly educated slave/secretary of Cicero) did indeed write something like this, but it is lost to the ages. Harris did his research for this one. The general flow of the plot is great, though occasionally I got a little tripped up in some names and places, as well as needing a refresher on the political structure of the Roman Republic.
I recommend this very erudite novel.