A review by courier
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

"He had reached the moment in life, different for each one of us, when a man abandons himself to his demon or to his genius, following a mysterious law which bids him either to destroy or to outdo himself."

Despite the difficulties I had with this book in the beginning, I ended up liking it quite well. I don't really know anything about the Roman Empire, so for most of the things happening, I did not have any context at all. However, I think Yourcenar did a good job at making the events somewhat accessible. I honestly cannot say anything about historical accuracy, but I suppose being entirely accurate is not the aim of the novel in the first place. I think its much more of a contemporary (1950s) outlook on life and philosophy, by way of an emperor telling his life story. As much as the novel is historical fiction, it also provides Yourcenar ground to explore personal philosophy through Hadrian and the few surviving texts we have from him. Choosing him as the emperor to focus on gave her a somewhat blank state as well, I suppose, upon which to build a narrative that fits her purpose, especially because Hadrian was one of the "good" emperors and therefore lent himself to a more philosophical examination than, say, Nero would. Apart from that, I also liked learning about Hadrian and his contemporaries (finally I know who Antinous is).