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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Κάτι που δεν έχω συναντήσει ξανά. Είναι τόσο καλογραμμένο που προς στιγμήν νομίζεις ότι είναι η αυτοβιογραφία του ίδιου του Αδριανού, ενός πολύ ενδιαφέροντος ιστορικού προσώπου. Από τους πιο συμπαθείς αυτοκράτορες, ιστορικά και παγκοσμίως, ένας φιλόσοφος, φιλέλληνας κτλ.
Ένα έργο πολύ ώριμο, πρωτότυπο και εντέλει καταπληκτικό. Μετά από κάποιο σημείο είναι λίγο κουραστικό, ίσως επειδή από την πρώτη σελίδα απαιτεί την απόλυτη συγκέντρωση του αναγνώστη. Βέβαια, δεν υπάρχει άλλος τρόπος για να διαβαστεί, ώστε να αποτελέσει μια απόλαυση. Σε καμία περίπτωση δεν επηρεάζει φυσικά την αξία του.
Ένα έργο πολύ ώριμο, πρωτότυπο και εντέλει καταπληκτικό. Μετά από κάποιο σημείο είναι λίγο κουραστικό, ίσως επειδή από την πρώτη σελίδα απαιτεί την απόλυτη συγκέντρωση του αναγνώστη. Βέβαια, δεν υπάρχει άλλος τρόπος για να διαβαστεί, ώστε να αποτελέσει μια απόλαυση. Σε καμία περίπτωση δεν επηρεάζει φυσικά την αξία του.
adventurous
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was my favorite book in college. During my freshman year, I think I read it through two or three times. It's beautiful. It's a masterpiece. The genre is unusual for a modern audience (epistolary historical fiction), but there was never a dull moment for me. The book is a character study of a man who feels he's failed in every aspect of his life. One of the greatest works of modern classical reception, this is a book I'll return to again and again throughout my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Pedophilia
There is no story to be found here, just philosophising. Not my cup of tea.
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Little did I know what strange labyrinths grief contains, or that I had yet to walk therein."
This seems to me a memoir in the truest sense, even though it's a work of fiction (or perhaps impersonation): a reconstruction of a mind in all of its perceptive, philosophical, and sensory dimensions.
There's no attempt at drama, or scene, or story here. For example, perhaps Hadrian's most famous legacy is his eponymous wall, which is barely mentioned—this Hadrian certainly didn't regard it as having outsized importance in his life story. What this book does contain is wisdom and emotion, some of it 2nd century AD, some of it timeless.
What I find most remarkable is that Yourcenar eventually distilled her lifelong obsession with Hadrian into its slimmest, densest form. When someone spends decades on a project, you might expect to find it sprawling, panoramic, perhaps bloated—the overcooked product of an author who has gradually lost perspective. Instead, Yourcenar obeyed the opposite impulse, and spent that time making it shorter, pouring her craft into every sentence and wasting nothing. A book to be read slowly.
This seems to me a memoir in the truest sense, even though it's a work of fiction (or perhaps impersonation): a reconstruction of a mind in all of its perceptive, philosophical, and sensory dimensions.
There's no attempt at drama, or scene, or story here. For example, perhaps Hadrian's most famous legacy is his eponymous wall, which is barely mentioned—this Hadrian certainly didn't regard it as having outsized importance in his life story. What this book does contain is wisdom and emotion, some of it 2nd century AD, some of it timeless.
What I find most remarkable is that Yourcenar eventually distilled her lifelong obsession with Hadrian into its slimmest, densest form. When someone spends decades on a project, you might expect to find it sprawling, panoramic, perhaps bloated—the overcooked product of an author who has gradually lost perspective. Instead, Yourcenar obeyed the opposite impulse, and spent that time making it shorter, pouring her craft into every sentence and wasting nothing. A book to be read slowly.
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated