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Satisfied.
Apr. 7th, 2008 07:51 pmThat was a very satisfying read, such as I haven't had in a long time.
The book was Pompeii, by Robert Harris, and I'm sure that if I hadn't been at work today, I would have read through the night and finished around one or two. As it was, I just finished now.
Though it was somewhat annoying that so few characters survived, I wasn't really surprised by this - after all, I've studied a bit about Pliny the Elder and Younger, and I knew something of their fates, and I knew that Pompeii and Herculaneum both ended up so deeply buried as to be a treasure trove for archaeologists in the relatively recent past. I kept having that urge of foreknowledge to scream at the characters what was about to happen - "Don't go back to Pompeii! It's about to be buried under white-hot ash!" or "Actually, the Aquaduct won't be flowing by noon, or if it is, it won't be giving water to anyone in that town." One way of keeping suspense is not to know what happens next. Another is to have characters move through a somewhat familiar scene in a way that is alternately novel and fated, and Harris used this technique to great effect.
I highly recommend the book, especially to lovers of historical fiction, but really to anyone. While the details may not have been 100%, they were certainly good enough to evoke vivid images for me, and I love learning about real events or places through the eyes of a well-drawn character.
The book was Pompeii, by Robert Harris, and I'm sure that if I hadn't been at work today, I would have read through the night and finished around one or two. As it was, I just finished now.
Though it was somewhat annoying that so few characters survived, I wasn't really surprised by this - after all, I've studied a bit about Pliny the Elder and Younger, and I knew something of their fates, and I knew that Pompeii and Herculaneum both ended up so deeply buried as to be a treasure trove for archaeologists in the relatively recent past. I kept having that urge of foreknowledge to scream at the characters what was about to happen - "Don't go back to Pompeii! It's about to be buried under white-hot ash!" or "Actually, the Aquaduct won't be flowing by noon, or if it is, it won't be giving water to anyone in that town." One way of keeping suspense is not to know what happens next. Another is to have characters move through a somewhat familiar scene in a way that is alternately novel and fated, and Harris used this technique to great effect.
I highly recommend the book, especially to lovers of historical fiction, but really to anyone. While the details may not have been 100%, they were certainly good enough to evoke vivid images for me, and I love learning about real events or places through the eyes of a well-drawn character.