Pompeii had me gripped from the get go.
You don't need to have visited Versuvius or Pompeii to know the tragic outcome, yet it didn't matter.
I didn't understand the scientific forward to each chapter, but you don't really need to.
At times the language was a bit off, for example, I can't imagine any Roman saying 'his stuff was good' but you went with it as the tension ramped higher with every page and the hours until the mighty Versuvius erupted ticked away.
Whilst I liked the characters of Harris' tale it was the description of daily life, the inventions and the ingenuity of the Romans that had me. The banquet of fried mice, the sacrifices to Gods who were no longer believed in and the awesome Aquaduct. I found myself thinking more than once how brilliant the Romans were. The only thing I can liken it to today is Dubai - 'lets see what money and imagination can build' but even then that isn't giving the Romans enough credit for how far ahead of their time they were.
I'm fascinated to know to what extent the book was real, I'm aware Pliny and 'Natural History' are but don't know about the other characters. I loved Harris' explanation of local legend in relation to Attilius and Corelia, a fitting end to their story and I like to think it is true.
I think the best way to end this review is by quoting Ampliatus and his ironic prophecy: 'even after the passage of millennia, when the Roman Empire and its emperors have long since gone into the dust, the name of Pompeii will be known throughout the world and people of every tongue will wander its streets and enter its amphitheaters.' We do Ampliatus, we do, but not for reasons you ever envisaged.
I read Pompeii over a weekend in the lovely Cowel Peninsula, it's definitely a keeper.
You don't need to have visited Versuvius or Pompeii to know the tragic outcome, yet it didn't matter.
I didn't understand the scientific forward to each chapter, but you don't really need to.
At times the language was a bit off, for example, I can't imagine any Roman saying 'his stuff was good' but you went with it as the tension ramped higher with every page and the hours until the mighty Versuvius erupted ticked away.
Whilst I liked the characters of Harris' tale it was the description of daily life, the inventions and the ingenuity of the Romans that had me. The banquet of fried mice, the sacrifices to Gods who were no longer believed in and the awesome Aquaduct. I found myself thinking more than once how brilliant the Romans were. The only thing I can liken it to today is Dubai - 'lets see what money and imagination can build' but even then that isn't giving the Romans enough credit for how far ahead of their time they were.
I'm fascinated to know to what extent the book was real, I'm aware Pliny and 'Natural History' are but don't know about the other characters. I loved Harris' explanation of local legend in relation to Attilius and Corelia, a fitting end to their story and I like to think it is true.
I think the best way to end this review is by quoting Ampliatus and his ironic prophecy: 'even after the passage of millennia, when the Roman Empire and its emperors have long since gone into the dust, the name of Pompeii will be known throughout the world and people of every tongue will wander its streets and enter its amphitheaters.' We do Ampliatus, we do, but not for reasons you ever envisaged.
I read Pompeii over a weekend in the lovely Cowel Peninsula, it's definitely a keeper.
Comments
Post a Comment