Camila Bonatto từ Murri, Madhya Pradesh, India

bonattocamcf33

05/05/2024

Dữ liệu người dùng, đánh giá và đề xuất cho sách

Camila Bonatto Sách lại (10)

2019-10-08 11:31

1987 Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn

Sách được viết bởi Bởi:

If only Robert Graves had been around country New South Wales in the mid 1990s to teach my high school history class, I may have taken a liking to history a lot earlier. Being immersed in I, Claudius these past few weeks however, I am left feeling that he has ignited a fire in my belly, a new found eagerness to learn more about this time in history, an interest that has lied dormant until now. Written as Tiberius Claudius's autobiography, Graves has masterfully composed a novel that describes the times of the early years of Imperial Rome. Narrated by Claudius it covers the reign of the first three Roman emperors - Augustus, Tiberius and Caligula. From marrying cousins, sleeping with sisters, murdering parents and other relations, concocting elaborate and cruel plots against one another, committing suicide simply because you've been told to (seemingly better than the alternative I guess), banishments to remote uninhabited islands. Throw in a few wars, countless death sentences (would you preferred to be beheaded, pushed off a cliff, or strangled then thrown down the stairs?), torture, backstabbing and even an orgy and you've got yourself one hell of a good novel. Claudius tells his story without any over-the-top descriptions or metaphors. The subject matter is such that it doesn't need dressing up. At times he even censors himself, telling us that the events should not be put down in text. In places he is remarkably witty, I found myself smiling at his sense of humour: "I was thinking, 'So, I'm Emperor, am I? What nonsense! But at least I'll be able to make people read my books now.'" How much of this is true, I'm not entirely sure. But I don't really care at this point either. One day perhaps, I'll take the time to read alternate texts on these times. But for now, I'll assume that the painstaking research that Graves no doubt put himself through to write this novel is close to the mark. I'll finish with a quote from Barry Unsworth, who wrote the introduction to the version I have just finished reading: "Yet again we have to remind ourselves of what we are always in danger of forgetting as we read this compelling narrative, with its impeccable research, the tremendous intellectual feat of organization that it represents. It is fiction after all." 5 stars.

Người đọc Camila Bonatto từ Murri, Madhya Pradesh, India

Người dùng coi những cuốn sách này là thú vị nhất trong năm 2017-2018, ban biên tập của cổng thông tin "Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn" khuyến cáo rằng tất cả các độc giả sẽ làm quen với văn học này.