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A review by abij
Augustus by John Williams
5.0
"We all grow used to our lives." (p. 236).
Williams uses the epistolary form to explore the life of Augustus Caesar, a quiet and scholarly adoptive son of Caesar, who becomes the first Roman Emperor. I am so glad that Williams chose the epistolary form. We get to read letters addressed from Horace to Virgil, and we read fragments of the memoirs of Marcus Agrippa - all very fitting since we are reading about ancient characters. Basically, thank you John Williams for making me feel like a historian piecing together a journal entry from 44BC and fragments of a memoir from 13BC to get to the drama. The best part is that the majority of the events of the novel are experienced through the perspectives of anyone but Augustus, until the very last and very emotional part. Our titular character remain distant and impenetrable right until the near end.
*
As mentioned, the drama of Augustus Caesar's reign is captured so perfectly within these pages. The historical figures are molded into dynamic characters that I ended up feeling so many emotions for. It made me immensely sad in parts, and then in others I chuckled out loud.
Williams tells the story with a great sense of humour, such as when Marcus Antonius accounts his attempts to make the young Caesar squirm by staring at him for a long time in silence, but instead ends up just... pissing himself off:
'I looked at him for a long time and didn't speak. I'll say this for him: he's a cool one. He didn't break and didn't say anything, and I couldn't even tell whether or not he was angry at having been made to wait. So finally I said:
"Well? What do you want?"
And even then he didn't blink.' (p. 36).
(Get rekt, Marc).
Or the moments on pages 157-158, when Horace becomes so amazingly judgy at dinner:
- "Mevius gave a tremulous sigh [...] Horace glanced at him, and raised a dubious eyebrow."
- "Mevius whispered loudly something about manliness and bravery; and Horace glowered..."
- "But for a long time he [Horace] was silent. Without waiting for a servant, he poured himself a measure of unmixed wine, and drank it at once."
(Get rekt, Mevius).
*
I could honestly spend all day listing quotes that I love from this book. Williams writes so beautifully about every topic.
My favourite moments though, are probably the times within the memoirs of some of the characters, when they reflect upon their lives from their old age.
This is when the characters become so relatable and familiar, though their lives are so far away. Maecenas writes during his retirement years that "only the past is real", and in the final pages of the book Augustus reveals his sorrow for the fact that at age seventy-six, he has outlived most of his closest friends. The ending of this novel had me screaming crying throwing up... I can't even think about it for too long or I'll die.
*
This book has left me with a certainty that I love historical fiction, especially that which takes real historical figures and turns them into characters. I've seen reviews of Augustus that say the portrayal of some of the characters is jarring compared to other books and films that explore the same topic (especially because we get the added layer of blending fact and fiction), but I've got to say that this is a specific reason why I love this genre. I'm obsessed with the fact that I can read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar or his Antony and Cleopatra, and feel a completely different way about ~technically~ the same characters that John Williams is writing about. I am also so happy that writers can just... make shit up. How fantastic is fiction!!!!
John Williams was apparently asked in 1986, "And literature is written to be entertaining?" To which he replied,"Absolutely. My God, to read without joy is stupid."
Williams uses the epistolary form to explore the life of Augustus Caesar, a quiet and scholarly adoptive son of Caesar, who becomes the first Roman Emperor. I am so glad that Williams chose the epistolary form. We get to read letters addressed from Horace to Virgil, and we read fragments of the memoirs of Marcus Agrippa - all very fitting since we are reading about ancient characters. Basically, thank you John Williams for making me feel like a historian piecing together a journal entry from 44BC and fragments of a memoir from 13BC to get to the drama. The best part is that the majority of the events of the novel are experienced through the perspectives of anyone but Augustus, until the very last and very emotional part. Our titular character remain distant and impenetrable right until the near end.
*
As mentioned, the drama of Augustus Caesar's reign is captured so perfectly within these pages. The historical figures are molded into dynamic characters that I ended up feeling so many emotions for. It made me immensely sad in parts, and then in others I chuckled out loud.
Williams tells the story with a great sense of humour, such as when Marcus Antonius accounts his attempts to make the young Caesar squirm by staring at him for a long time in silence, but instead ends up just... pissing himself off:
'I looked at him for a long time and didn't speak. I'll say this for him: he's a cool one. He didn't break and didn't say anything, and I couldn't even tell whether or not he was angry at having been made to wait. So finally I said:
"Well? What do you want?"
And even then he didn't blink.' (p. 36).
(Get rekt, Marc).
Or the moments on pages 157-158, when Horace becomes so amazingly judgy at dinner:
- "Mevius gave a tremulous sigh [...] Horace glanced at him, and raised a dubious eyebrow."
- "Mevius whispered loudly something about manliness and bravery; and Horace glowered..."
- "But for a long time he [Horace] was silent. Without waiting for a servant, he poured himself a measure of unmixed wine, and drank it at once."
(Get rekt, Mevius).
*
I could honestly spend all day listing quotes that I love from this book. Williams writes so beautifully about every topic.
My favourite moments though, are probably the times within the memoirs of some of the characters, when they reflect upon their lives from their old age.
This is when the characters become so relatable and familiar, though their lives are so far away. Maecenas writes during his retirement years that "only the past is real", and in the final pages of the book Augustus reveals his sorrow for the fact that at age seventy-six, he has outlived most of his closest friends. The ending of this novel had me screaming crying throwing up... I can't even think about it for too long or I'll die.
*
This book has left me with a certainty that I love historical fiction, especially that which takes real historical figures and turns them into characters. I've seen reviews of Augustus that say the portrayal of some of the characters is jarring compared to other books and films that explore the same topic (especially because we get the added layer of blending fact and fiction), but I've got to say that this is a specific reason why I love this genre. I'm obsessed with the fact that I can read Shakespeare's Julius Caesar or his Antony and Cleopatra, and feel a completely different way about ~technically~ the same characters that John Williams is writing about. I am also so happy that writers can just... make shit up. How fantastic is fiction!!!!
John Williams was apparently asked in 1986, "And literature is written to be entertaining?" To which he replied,"Absolutely. My God, to read without joy is stupid."