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4.23 AVERAGE
4.23 AVERAGE
Augustus lezen is een krachttoer voor de concentratie. Niet bepaald een ontspannend boek voor 's avonds onder een dekentje. In het begin verraste het me; ik wist niet dat ik geboeid zou zijn door verslagen van veldslagen. Maar na een tijdje begon het wel wat te vervelen. Het is pas als de vrouwen aan het woord komen, in de tweede helft van het boek dat mijn interesse terug gewekt was. Om dan terug te verslappen naar het einde toe.
Het is een mannenboek, concludeerden we gisteren in de leesclub. Toch drie sterren omdat het een boek is dat door mijn hoofd blijft spoken en me op de één of andere manier dus toch wist te raken.
Het is een mannenboek, concludeerden we gisteren in de leesclub. Toch drie sterren omdat het een boek is dat door mijn hoofd blijft spoken en me op de één of andere manier dus toch wist te raken.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-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:
Yes
Beautifully written. Lyrical, yet simple. Engaging format. Williams can do no wrong. 4.75 only because I think Stoner is a better novel. However, Williams remains unmatched as one of my favorite authors.
I am bowled over by the power of a good writer.
I have very little interest in the classics (blame bad secondary school latin classes if you will) but picked this up at the airport, in faith of Williams' writing from Stoner, and I have left it with a desire for classics!
Augustus is the first example in my experience, of the 2nd person narrative being the best and only choice for a novel.
The first part speaks of the founding of the empire and the second, of the sacrifices in its maintenance or, as this edition's introduction so neatly encapsulates it:
But i think it is also about the stage that happens after you grow up and that an achievement in adulthood is just keeping together what you worked so hard to build as a youth/young adult.
It will be interesting to read this novel again in 20 years and see if I've changed my mind! :)
I have very little interest in the classics (blame bad secondary school latin classes if you will) but picked this up at the airport, in faith of Williams' writing from Stoner, and I have left it with a desire for classics!
Augustus is the first example in my experience, of the 2nd person narrative being the best and only choice for a novel.
The first part speaks of the founding of the empire and the second, of the sacrifices in its maintenance or, as this edition's introduction so neatly encapsulates it:
[...] part one is about success in the public, political sphere and part two about failiure in the private, emotional sphere -- the latter being a potential cost, Williams suggest, of the former.
But i think it is also about the stage that happens after you grow up and that an achievement in adulthood is just keeping together what you worked so hard to build as a youth/young adult.
It will be interesting to read this novel again in 20 years and see if I've changed my mind! :)
John Williams executes his relatively straightforward premises excellently. The first half of the novel deals with Octavius Caesar’s rise to power and the path he took to get there. Then it concerns himself with how he kept power. Finally, in the last section of the book, we hear from the man himself for the first time. The rest of the book (I’m pretty sure I didn’t check) is composed of letters and diary entries from those around him. It creates a sense of the man without ever letting us inside his mind.
It also handles itself in a way that I like. Much of the book focuses on the intrigue and machinations of the Roman court, but once the reader was invested in it, the themes of the book become clear, and it uses that goodwill to explore the ideas at the heart of the novel. It doesn’t show its hand too early. Great book, not as life-changing as Stoner but perhaps a little easier to recommend thanks to how vividly it imagines Roman life
It also handles itself in a way that I like. Much of the book focuses on the intrigue and machinations of the Roman court, but once the reader was invested in it, the themes of the book become clear, and it uses that goodwill to explore the ideas at the heart of the novel. It doesn’t show its hand too early. Great book, not as life-changing as Stoner but perhaps a little easier to recommend thanks to how vividly it imagines Roman life
Ah. AH. Mistä tahansa Williams kirjoittaa, rakastun. Eikä sillä, että etukäteen olisin tähän rakastamista edes epäillyt, sillä kaikista suomennetuista tämä on jo aiheelta lähimpänä todennäköisiä sydämen sykähtelyitä. Että osui ja upposi.
I can't believe this Ancient Rome need has never read a National Book Award fiction winner about Caesar Augustus. An excellent book using the unique literary style of telling the story through different letters of Augustus' contemporaries.