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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-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
challenging
informative
slow-paced
A masterpiece.
The word is overused but it very apt for this work by John Williams, an author who until now has been on my rador but I have never got around to. I am glad to have finally enjoyed one of his works and got the enjoyment of experiencing something so good for the first time. I know that it will be a book I will return to several times.
Such beautiful writing and different to most books in the plot being carried via letters explaining the life of Gaius Octavian latterly named Augustus Caesar (Emperor Augustus). It was nice to see the different viewpoints of people surrounding the Emperor, albeit their words as fiction.
I have had Butchers Crossing on my bok shelf for a few years and been put off reading it for some reason but I think it has been raised up the pecking order and I can't wait to enjoy it. I do believe I may have discovered a new favourite author.
The word is overused but it very apt for this work by John Williams, an author who until now has been on my rador but I have never got around to. I am glad to have finally enjoyed one of his works and got the enjoyment of experiencing something so good for the first time. I know that it will be a book I will return to several times.
Such beautiful writing and different to most books in the plot being carried via letters explaining the life of Gaius Octavian latterly named Augustus Caesar (Emperor Augustus). It was nice to see the different viewpoints of people surrounding the Emperor, albeit their words as fiction.
I have had Butchers Crossing on my bok shelf for a few years and been put off reading it for some reason but I think it has been raised up the pecking order and I can't wait to enjoy it. I do believe I may have discovered a new favourite author.
John Williams, you were literary genius. I wish you could have lived to see your greatness for yourself.
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Octavius was chosen by Julius Cesar to be his heir and successor. He was a teenage when Julius Cesar was murdered on the Ides of March (March 15) in 44 BC. He became Augustus, emperor or Rome, a deity, and the founder of two hundred years of Pax Romana, temporarily ending the internal warfare for power that had troubled Rome.
Augustus by John Williams shared the National Book Award with John Barth's Chimera. I read Barth's book at Adrian College but had never heard of Williams until I bought a sale ebook of Stoner, a book that still ranks as one of my favorites read in recent years. My son gifted me William's last novel Augustus.
The story is told through letters between those close to Augustus, his enemies, and his family. In the beginning we hear others write about Octavius; in the last part we hear Augustus speak for himself.
The power of the novel is not in plot but in the subtle revelation of the cost of power. The boy Octavius is journeying with his boyhood friends when he hears of the death of Julius Caesar. His life is no longer his own. He knew his destiny was to change the world. Rome was deep in conflict for power. He raised an army and ended the 'tyranny of faction' at age nineteen. What he accomplished in his seventy-six years amounts to a miracle: he created an empire at a the cost of friendship, family, and friends.
Augustus sends his beloved daughter and only child Julia into exile to save her life when her friends and lovers are implicated in a plot on his life. The most powerful man in the world died ailing and existentially alone, knowing that his stepson Tiberius was poised to take over. He ponders on how man does not choose his fate but is propelled by necessity.
When we read of Julia's life and how she was a sacrifice to Roman peace, and of her discovery of love with the man who used her and led to her exile, it is heart breaking. Even more powerful are the thoughts of an aged Augustus considering his life, any man's life and the lessons learned.
Even after forty years of Pax Romana, Augustus sees the seeds of Rome's fall. Prosperity and security has not dulled the people's appetite for warfare, played out in the gladiator rings of blood and death. Augustus knows that power is ephemeral, and so is peace and plenty.
"Rome is not eternal...Rome will fall...the barbarian will conquer....There was a moment of Rome, and it will not wholly die." from Augustus.
Read an interview about the book at LA Review of Books: https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/john-williamss-novel-augustus-conversation. "Williams is like a medium who calls forth the voices of the dead, ever-poised on the thin edge of triumph or humiliation, for whom it is eternally now." "The book is a miracle: it shouldn't work, no way it should work---an epistolary novel about Rome's first emperor, told in the ancient yet natural and varied voices of all the key players?--and yet it succeeds beyond all measure."
Augustus by John Williams shared the National Book Award with John Barth's Chimera. I read Barth's book at Adrian College but had never heard of Williams until I bought a sale ebook of Stoner, a book that still ranks as one of my favorites read in recent years. My son gifted me William's last novel Augustus.
The story is told through letters between those close to Augustus, his enemies, and his family. In the beginning we hear others write about Octavius; in the last part we hear Augustus speak for himself.
The power of the novel is not in plot but in the subtle revelation of the cost of power. The boy Octavius is journeying with his boyhood friends when he hears of the death of Julius Caesar. His life is no longer his own. He knew his destiny was to change the world. Rome was deep in conflict for power. He raised an army and ended the 'tyranny of faction' at age nineteen. What he accomplished in his seventy-six years amounts to a miracle: he created an empire at a the cost of friendship, family, and friends.
Augustus sends his beloved daughter and only child Julia into exile to save her life when her friends and lovers are implicated in a plot on his life. The most powerful man in the world died ailing and existentially alone, knowing that his stepson Tiberius was poised to take over. He ponders on how man does not choose his fate but is propelled by necessity.
When we read of Julia's life and how she was a sacrifice to Roman peace, and of her discovery of love with the man who used her and led to her exile, it is heart breaking. Even more powerful are the thoughts of an aged Augustus considering his life, any man's life and the lessons learned.
Even after forty years of Pax Romana, Augustus sees the seeds of Rome's fall. Prosperity and security has not dulled the people's appetite for warfare, played out in the gladiator rings of blood and death. Augustus knows that power is ephemeral, and so is peace and plenty.
"Rome is not eternal...Rome will fall...the barbarian will conquer....There was a moment of Rome, and it will not wholly die." from Augustus.
Read an interview about the book at LA Review of Books: https://lareviewofbooks.org/essay/john-williamss-novel-augustus-conversation. "Williams is like a medium who calls forth the voices of the dead, ever-poised on the thin edge of triumph or humiliation, for whom it is eternally now." "The book is a miracle: it shouldn't work, no way it should work---an epistolary novel about Rome's first emperor, told in the ancient yet natural and varied voices of all the key players?--and yet it succeeds beyond all measure."
informative
reflective
tense
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
So this is a historical fiction book about the first Roman Emperor, Caesar Augustus. It's told through a series of imagined documents of the day -- letters, military orders, anonymous notes, poems, diary entries, etc. To be honest, I thought it sounded a bit bland going in, but I loved Stoner, so I thought I'd give it a shot. It was worth it. The first thing that struck me about this book is that John Williams' prose is just always so good. The second thing was the overlap between this and my history classes --I read in the introduction that John Williams was interested in historiography, how history gets written, and it really shows. The reader is given conflicting accounts, gossip, and glimpses of what might have happened. Like a historian, the reader is expected to notice dates, the perspectives of each writer, who they're writing to, why they might be exaggerating, etc. It's really well done from a historical perspective, and it makes for an interesting and nuanced, if sometimes challenging, read. I'm sure I missed half of what was going on, but that's just another reason to read it again!