Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
challenging
“Most men—it is my experience—are neither virtuous nor scoundrels, good-hearted nor bad-hearted. They are a little of one thing and a little of the other and nothing for any length of time: ignoble mediocrities.”
― Robert Graves, Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina
I, Claudius and [b:Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|52251|Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina (Claudius, #2)|Robert Graves|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388464559s/52251.jpg|4232163] are two of the greatest novels of historical fiction EVER. Probably the only writers who come close to Grave's mastery of history and literature are (in no particular order): Gore Vidal ([b:Lincoln|8716|Lincoln|Gore Vidal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403185993s/8716.jpg|658163], [b:Burr|8722|Burr|Gore Vidal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403176864s/8722.jpg|1702196], etc), Hilary Mantel ([b:Wolf Hall|6101138|Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)|Hilary Mantel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336576165s/6101138.jpg|6278354], [b:Bring Up the Bodies|13507212|Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2)|Hilary Mantel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1330649655s/13507212.jpg|14512257]) and Norman Mailer ([b:The Executioner's Song|12468|The Executioner's Song|Norman Mailer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1325755176s/12468.jpg|838965], [b:Harlot's Ghost|381365|Harlot's Ghost|Norman Mailer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415621572s/381365.jpg|2409551]), John Williams ([b:Augustus|89231|Augustus|John Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320557188s/89231.jpg|86120]).
Obviously, Shakespeare is the master of historical fiction/drama but he is so obviously the deified king of historical fiction that the Shakespearian 'sun needs no inscription to distinguish him from darkness'.
Grave's duology must be intimidating to a historian of Imperial Rome. The personality of Claudius has been so deeply set by Graves that I'm not sure any tweaking by modern historians will be able to fool with Grave's fool.
The Genius of 'I, Claudius' and 'Glaudius the God' is derived from Graves' ability to create such an amazingly rich and deep literary character. The closest I've come across in recent times is Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell. Historical fiction like this are rare and seem to grow more amazing with each year. I rarely reread novels, and these Claudius novels might prove to be two exceptions to that rule.
― Robert Graves, Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina
I, Claudius and [b:Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|52251|Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina (Claudius, #2)|Robert Graves|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388464559s/52251.jpg|4232163] are two of the greatest novels of historical fiction EVER. Probably the only writers who come close to Grave's mastery of history and literature are (in no particular order): Gore Vidal ([b:Lincoln|8716|Lincoln|Gore Vidal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403185993s/8716.jpg|658163], [b:Burr|8722|Burr|Gore Vidal|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403176864s/8722.jpg|1702196], etc), Hilary Mantel ([b:Wolf Hall|6101138|Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell, #1)|Hilary Mantel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336576165s/6101138.jpg|6278354], [b:Bring Up the Bodies|13507212|Bring Up the Bodies (Thomas Cromwell, #2)|Hilary Mantel|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1330649655s/13507212.jpg|14512257]) and Norman Mailer ([b:The Executioner's Song|12468|The Executioner's Song|Norman Mailer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1325755176s/12468.jpg|838965], [b:Harlot's Ghost|381365|Harlot's Ghost|Norman Mailer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415621572s/381365.jpg|2409551]), John Williams ([b:Augustus|89231|Augustus|John Williams|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1320557188s/89231.jpg|86120]).
Obviously, Shakespeare is the master of historical fiction/drama but he is so obviously the deified king of historical fiction that the Shakespearian 'sun needs no inscription to distinguish him from darkness'.
Grave's duology must be intimidating to a historian of Imperial Rome. The personality of Claudius has been so deeply set by Graves that I'm not sure any tweaking by modern historians will be able to fool with Grave's fool.
The Genius of 'I, Claudius' and 'Glaudius the God' is derived from Graves' ability to create such an amazingly rich and deep literary character. The closest I've come across in recent times is Hilary Mantel's Thomas Cromwell. Historical fiction like this are rare and seem to grow more amazing with each year. I rarely reread novels, and these Claudius novels might prove to be two exceptions to that rule.
Judging both books (with the previous "I, Claudius") the story is long and thorough and sometimes winds into more detail than a casual reader may ask for.
The ending rushed on then. The life of Claudius managed to give a clean finish, just to get unneccesary messy again on the last pages.
Fool and genius is sometimes much much closer than we might even think
The ending rushed on then. The life of Claudius managed to give a clean finish, just to get unneccesary messy again on the last pages.
Fool and genius is sometimes much much closer than we might even think
I still can't believe I'm not giving it full stars. The writing is amazing and I've come to realize that Claudius has really got under my skin – or rather Graves' version of Claudius. Yet somehow I had trouble immersing into this. Most of the time I felt like I was almost pushing myself to continue reading. Unlike in I, Claudius, which was packed with plot-twists and remarkable characters, this one felt somewhat uneventful almost sluggish in places. It pains me to say so it truly does, but alas, this is just one of the cases when the sequel is just not as great as the first book.
Niestety, wydarzenia związane z dalszymi losami Klaudiusza, okazują się o wiele mniej wciągające, niż te, których świadkami byliśmy w tomie uprzednim. Nie sposób oprzeć się wrażeniu, że jest to kontynuacja pisana poniekąd "na siłę" - zbyt wiele tu, często mało interesujących, znacząco odbiegających od najważniejszych wątków, dygresji. Zbyt wiele miejsca poświęcono postaciom, których wpływ na istotne wydarzenia jest znikomy, i zbyt duży nacisk - ale to już kwestia gustu - położono na kwestie obyczajowe. Zdecydowanie zabrakło tu absorbujących wydarzeń - jedna kampania brytyjska, świetnie, skądinąd opisana, "wiosny" nie czyni - i silnych, nietuzinkowych postaci, pokroju Liwii, czy Kaliguli. Ponadto, wydało mi się, że autor posuwa się nieco za daleko w pewnych spekulacjach - zwłaszcza tych dotyczących chrześcijaństwa, czy dogłębnego zaznajomienia się Klaudiusza z - kanonicznym, a jakże - żywotem Jezusa z Nazaretu.
Okropnie męczyłem się z tą częścią opowieści - doceniam poziom zgłębienia tematyki przez autora, jak również umiejętność wyłożenia historii w przystępny sposób, jednak mimo wszystko stawiam "Klaudisza i Messalinę" zaledwie o oczko wyżej niż podręcznikowe opracowania.
Okropnie męczyłem się z tą częścią opowieści - doceniam poziom zgłębienia tematyki przez autora, jak również umiejętność wyłożenia historii w przystępny sposób, jednak mimo wszystko stawiam "Klaudisza i Messalinę" zaledwie o oczko wyżej niż podręcznikowe opracowania.