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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
4.5 rounded up. Could have been 10/5 if it was like 500 pages instead of 1000
9/10 Stars. An amazing re-creation of the life of Cleopatra VII. Beginning from age 7 all the way to her death, this novel includes as much historical fact as is possible while imagining the rest. An excellent read!
Where were those editors when they were most needed?
A biographical novel re-creating the entire life of an enigmatic, yet colourful, ambitious, conniving and flamboyant character such as Cleopatra embellished and fleshed out with fictional anecdotes and details to bring an enormous cast of characters to life cannot help but be long in the telling. The problem is compounded, of course, when the cast includes a list of players such as Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Octavian and Herod, King of Judea, each of whom is larger than life and worthy of a biography in their own right. Now, any lover of books knows that long need not of necessity be tedious but, frankly, even George's first-rate story telling abilities were simply not consistent enough or compelling enough to render this novel enjoyable for its excessive 1000 page length.
Oh, it had its exciting moments, to be sure - the high speed running sea battle with the Mediterranean pirates off the coast of Sicily; the final epic confrontation with Octavian at Actium; Cleopatra's heart-rending grief and the conflicting surge of her searing anger and dismay at the moment of Caesar's assassination; the crystal clear depiction of her character as a strong-willed, self-centered woman who was willing to risk all to further her ambitions and to protect the birthright of her son - but these moments were separated by intervals that were so wide as to render the book a tedious, difficult novel to complete with only sporadic rewards for those who persevered.
On the plus side, George injected her story with plenty of entertaining and informative historical aside raising questions that would certainly serve as fodder for interesting, thought-provoking discussion on a wide variety of topics germane even to this very day. Two examples in particular stood out for me.
This excerpt on the religious beliefs of the Egyptians of the day:
"Together Osiris, Isis, and Horus live as the holy family, a blessed three. The birth-chapel commemorated the miraculous birth of the child. Across the water from Philae, on the neighboring island of Biggeh, part of Osiris lay buried, and every ten days a golden statue of Isis was ferried over in a sacred barque to visit her divine spouse.",
would probably cause a modern Christian to pause, scratch his head and muse at the common appearance of the concept of Trinity.
As Cleopatra waited for news of Antony's exploits in Parthia, she thought:
"The Queen in me yearned for his victory, and prayed for that; the wife feared he would not return alive, and begged Isis only for his life. I was both the Spartan wife, saying, 'Return with your shield or on it,' and the Egyptian wife saying, 'Only return - even without the shield.'"
It occurred to me to wonder what the modern spouse says about their partner who has chosen a career in the military. Are they thinking in terms of honour, valour, career, survival, service to their country??
The Memoirs of Cleopatra was a rewarding, informative and interesting novel but an intimidating, time-consuming, slog of a read that took will-power and dedication to complete. Recommended for those that enjoy ancient history, but only just!
Paul Weiss
A biographical novel re-creating the entire life of an enigmatic, yet colourful, ambitious, conniving and flamboyant character such as Cleopatra embellished and fleshed out with fictional anecdotes and details to bring an enormous cast of characters to life cannot help but be long in the telling. The problem is compounded, of course, when the cast includes a list of players such as Julius Caesar, Marc Antony, Octavian and Herod, King of Judea, each of whom is larger than life and worthy of a biography in their own right. Now, any lover of books knows that long need not of necessity be tedious but, frankly, even George's first-rate story telling abilities were simply not consistent enough or compelling enough to render this novel enjoyable for its excessive 1000 page length.
Oh, it had its exciting moments, to be sure - the high speed running sea battle with the Mediterranean pirates off the coast of Sicily; the final epic confrontation with Octavian at Actium; Cleopatra's heart-rending grief and the conflicting surge of her searing anger and dismay at the moment of Caesar's assassination; the crystal clear depiction of her character as a strong-willed, self-centered woman who was willing to risk all to further her ambitions and to protect the birthright of her son - but these moments were separated by intervals that were so wide as to render the book a tedious, difficult novel to complete with only sporadic rewards for those who persevered.
On the plus side, George injected her story with plenty of entertaining and informative historical aside raising questions that would certainly serve as fodder for interesting, thought-provoking discussion on a wide variety of topics germane even to this very day. Two examples in particular stood out for me.
This excerpt on the religious beliefs of the Egyptians of the day:
"Together Osiris, Isis, and Horus live as the holy family, a blessed three. The birth-chapel commemorated the miraculous birth of the child. Across the water from Philae, on the neighboring island of Biggeh, part of Osiris lay buried, and every ten days a golden statue of Isis was ferried over in a sacred barque to visit her divine spouse.",
would probably cause a modern Christian to pause, scratch his head and muse at the common appearance of the concept of Trinity.
As Cleopatra waited for news of Antony's exploits in Parthia, she thought:
"The Queen in me yearned for his victory, and prayed for that; the wife feared he would not return alive, and begged Isis only for his life. I was both the Spartan wife, saying, 'Return with your shield or on it,' and the Egyptian wife saying, 'Only return - even without the shield.'"
It occurred to me to wonder what the modern spouse says about their partner who has chosen a career in the military. Are they thinking in terms of honour, valour, career, survival, service to their country??
The Memoirs of Cleopatra was a rewarding, informative and interesting novel but an intimidating, time-consuming, slog of a read that took will-power and dedication to complete. Recommended for those that enjoy ancient history, but only just!
Paul Weiss
FINALLY! That was the longest book ever...
I did enjoy learning alot more about Cleopatra, but maybe that I already knew so much about her worked against me in this one. There were some chapters that just dragged on and on and on. Pretty much the last half of the book was pretty hard to get through.
I did enjoy learning alot more about Cleopatra, but maybe that I already knew so much about her worked against me in this one. There were some chapters that just dragged on and on and on. Pretty much the last half of the book was pretty hard to get through.
Epic. A complete history of Cleopatra written excitingly as a novel. Everything you ever wanted to know about Cleopatra, her colleagues, family, cities, parties etc written in a very interesting story telling way.
I enjoyed learning about Cleopatra and that the book is from her point of view, not the Romans. Too much sex. The medicinal, religious, Egyptian and Roman culture, and agricultural aspects kept me reading. I had no idea Cleopatra had 4 children: 1 with Ceasar and 3 with Anthony. She liked her Romans. It is a long read 1,250 pages.
Fascinating and captivating look at the life of Cleopatra, written as though from her own perspective.
I'm sure I have nothing new to add that hasn't already been said before, but this book is a masterpiece. Cleopatra truly comes to life; not only that, but it's as if she is really speaking to us through the ages. Her insights are startlingly relatable today, and Margaret George brilliantly relays Cleopatra's thoughts, emotions and actions. It's so hard to separate this from the real Cleopatra. I could easily believe these are her long lost memoirs.
Parts of it were heart-wrenching and the ending left me absolutely gutted, even though I knew it was coming from the beginning. This book was daunting because of its sheer size but I am happy I stuck with it. It is one of the most transportive books I've read.
Sure, there were just a couple spots I skimmed (mainly describing the animal fights in Rome), but this book felt complete. I wouldn't have left anything out, and I don't think there's anything to add. It felt perfect.
I have a feeling this book will stay with me for a long time.
Parts of it were heart-wrenching and the ending left me absolutely gutted, even though I knew it was coming from the beginning. This book was daunting because of its sheer size but I am happy I stuck with it. It is one of the most transportive books I've read.
Sure, there were just a couple spots I skimmed (mainly describing the animal fights in Rome), but this book felt complete. I wouldn't have left anything out, and I don't think there's anything to add. It felt perfect.
I have a feeling this book will stay with me for a long time.
Outstanding book. George is a masterful ghost-writer, and rationalizes Cleopatra's life in an entertaining, believable fashion. Only complaint is she relegates too many paragraphs to things that deserve little and too little paragraphs that deserve many — for instance, you could probably cut about 100 pages of romance (without cutting out any of the substance of Cleopatra's relationships) and have a better book. Similarly, she could *add* back a good 20 pages by expanding on things like her youngest brother Ptolemy's death, which has only a single paragraph. That complaint aside, it was a joy to read.
Good grief, this book was phenomenal. If you have enjoyed any other books by this author, you will enjoy this book. She captured the essence and atmosphere of this time with absolutely sublime skill. The author takes incredible time and effort to craft her novels and to ensure historical accuracy. At no point while reading this novel did I feel drawn out of the story buy something that felt out of place or incorrect. There’s also the fact that there are very few books about the powerful women in history. Cleopatra was one of very few women to truly rule over Egypt, ironic given that she was not in fact Egyptian. She came as close as any woman ever to starting a dynasty. I would recommend this book to anyone with any interest in the genre of historical fiction, ancient Egypt, Cleopatra, or simply excellent books.