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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
Great, now I have to go and read some actual (ie non-fiction) Roman history to find out if I just learned something or if I just read through two books worth of Days or Our Lives, circa 41 AD.
I read [b:Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|52251|Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|Robert Graves|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170385969s/52251.jpg|4232163] and [b:I, Claudius|18765|I, Claudius|Robert Graves|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167094189s/18765.jpg|4232388] back to back as I really wanted to follow through to the end of the prophecy with which "I, Claudius" opens. Also, both the style and content of the books was extremely compelling and I really wanted to find out what happened next! The books content shows no sign of their publishing age (1934/1935), I guess because the referenced events are orders of magnitude older and there was no attempt to modernise the story, merely translate (OK, and perhaps add an element of excitement and intrigue).
I listened to these books, the Recorded Books version read by Nelson Runger. The performance was quite well done and I had no problems with it.
I read [b:Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|52251|Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina|Robert Graves|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170385969s/52251.jpg|4232163] and [b:I, Claudius|18765|I, Claudius|Robert Graves|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167094189s/18765.jpg|4232388] back to back as I really wanted to follow through to the end of the prophecy with which "I, Claudius" opens. Also, both the style and content of the books was extremely compelling and I really wanted to find out what happened next! The books content shows no sign of their publishing age (1934/1935), I guess because the referenced events are orders of magnitude older and there was no attempt to modernise the story, merely translate (OK, and perhaps add an element of excitement and intrigue).
I listened to these books, the Recorded Books version read by Nelson Runger. The performance was quite well done and I had no problems with it.
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Continues where I, Claudius left off, with more of the same. It begins to drag a little, or perhaps the novelty has worn off. I'm more than ready not to be thinking about the Roman Empire every day at this point. Although I would sign on for another volume if it were from Herod Agrippa's point of view. He seems to be the Captain Jack Sparrow of antiquity.
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
See I, Claudius for a fuller picture.
This book is even more frustrating than I, Claudius. It reads like a catalogue of deeds (which, to be completely fair, is what Graves was trying to write) but lacks any real verve.
The books focus on the career of Herod Agrippa doesn't really pay off, Claudius's quantum superposition of genius and total moron can't ever be resolved, and the rampant misogyny from the first book continues in force. The whole conflict with Messalina makes no sense as written.
It's extremely unsatisfying (not to mention misogynistic) that all the women around Claudius (with the exception of Calpurnia, I suppose) are manipulative harlots.
It felt like Graves wanted to have his cake and eat it, too, here. He wrote himself into a corner. It is hard to accept that Claudius' extreme familiarity with characters like Graves' version of Livia from I, Claudius, would be so completely fooled by Messalina. Either Claudius is a genius who actually understands what was going on around him or he isn't.
This book is even more frustrating than I, Claudius. It reads like a catalogue of deeds (which, to be completely fair, is what Graves was trying to write) but lacks any real verve.
The books focus on the career of Herod Agrippa doesn't really pay off, Claudius's quantum superposition of genius and total moron can't ever be resolved, and the rampant misogyny from the first book continues in force. The whole conflict with Messalina makes no sense as written.
It's extremely unsatisfying (not to mention misogynistic) that all the women around Claudius (with the exception of Calpurnia, I suppose) are manipulative harlots.
It felt like Graves wanted to have his cake and eat it, too, here. He wrote himself into a corner. It is hard to accept that Claudius' extreme familiarity with characters like Graves' version of Livia from I, Claudius, would be so completely fooled by Messalina. Either Claudius is a genius who actually understands what was going on around him or he isn't.
This book answered most of the problems I had with the first book and was a very enjoyable read.
The biggest problem I had with "I, Claudius" was that it never seemed to focus on Claudius himself, and was mostly a retelling of a History he didn't seem to be much a part of (at least until Caligula's reign). This book fixed that completely, and I was delighted by it. It was incredibly entertaining to read of Claudius's reign and the other characters surrounding it from his perspective.
The novel starts out with a 50ish page account of Herod Agrippa, who is one of the most enjoyable characters this series has had, especially as he continues to play a vital role in the rest of the book. Messalina was also great and a far more enjoyable (in a love to hate her way) than her counterpart in the previous book, Livia. Claudius's finding-out of Messalina and his subsequent deterioration in values and ideals was truly devastating to read.
I greatly enjoyed this book in a way that it's predecessor could not achieve. The reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that it still had a fair amount of dry sections that didn't seem very important or interesting, and it still remained very hard to remember the dozens of different characters who all appear briefly only to have some vital importance later.
The biggest problem I had with "I, Claudius" was that it never seemed to focus on Claudius himself, and was mostly a retelling of a History he didn't seem to be much a part of (at least until Caligula's reign). This book fixed that completely, and I was delighted by it. It was incredibly entertaining to read of Claudius's reign and the other characters surrounding it from his perspective.
The novel starts out with a 50ish page account of Herod Agrippa, who is one of the most enjoyable characters this series has had, especially as he continues to play a vital role in the rest of the book. Messalina was also great and a far more enjoyable (in a love to hate her way) than her counterpart in the previous book, Livia. Claudius's finding-out of Messalina and his subsequent deterioration in values and ideals was truly devastating to read.
I greatly enjoyed this book in a way that it's predecessor could not achieve. The reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that it still had a fair amount of dry sections that didn't seem very important or interesting, and it still remained very hard to remember the dozens of different characters who all appear briefly only to have some vital importance later.
I think the first was better. This held up well at least 3/4ths of the way through with its general quality historical fiction narrative, but the last bit tapered off. Graves is very good at emulating the Latin style of history/biography. I will say for how well he replicates a believable style work by Claudius, towards the end I found him to be wearisome.
One of the best parts of this book is the character Herod Agrippa who really plays the well-educated noble prince archetype to a tee.
One of the best parts of this book is the character Herod Agrippa who really plays the well-educated noble prince archetype to a tee.
Claudius the God continues the unexpected fortunes of Claudius, now abruptly Emperor. For a historical novel masquerading as an real manuscript it reads well, the pace is brisk, interesting and interspersed with episodes of the titular character's cleverness and other non-historical anecdotes that give an immersive experience of what it might have been like to live during those times, and the burdens and joys of ruling a country as idiosyncratic, as alternately superstitious and politically sensitive as Rome. It is a full picture, vivid with scenes of sacrifice, domestic quarrels, conversations and fights between men and women, silly songs sung in jesting admiration of their ruler. The currents of his tale are rich with love, lust, intellectual retrospection, true grief over the loss of his friends. Claudius is someone of his time, someone the reader cannot really reconcile to the modern temper when one reads of him carefully planning the building of the harbour one moment and the next, turning pale at the appearance of an owl in daytime (an omen), or fully believing in a prediction of his death. While at intervals the story can be weighed down by too many numbers and meticulous records of how he undertook certain investigations into policies and history in order to arrive at a decision, it's not the fault of the story but another instance of the main character's careful and unassuming nature. Claudius - attentive, affectionate, abused, and possessor of his own prejudices (that can so often damn him in the gaze of those who judge themselves modern and sensitive), told time and again by his friend Herod Agrippa to trust no one and yet keeping his better nature till the end... Graves has written a figure so complex and considered. Claudius compels sympathy without detracting from his faults, to the point where, when one reads the supplementary historical records and satires written posthumously of him, one involuntary feels the flush of outrage and sorrow.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes