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A review by lenny9987
I Am Rome by Santiago Posteguillo
adventurous
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The recent English translation of Santiago Posteguilllo’s novel I Am Rome is another instance where the description caught my attention and had me imagining the novel would be one thing but then it turned out to be something a bit different – still enjoyable but a very different shape to what I’d been expecting. While the heart of the novel is very much the trial that helped jump-start the career of Julius Caesar, the structure that is used to lay that story out delved so much deeper and further back in not just Caesar’s personal history but the history of Rome and its empire and politics. The jumping back and forth took some getting used to and made it difficult at times to keep details of the trial straight (especially through the first half of the novel), but in the end it was those extended flashbacks that I enjoyed more than the drama of the trial which succeeded in being infuriating and frustrating (perhaps even more than intended) given that corruption is one of the key charges.
Rome has long been ruled primarily by a powerful and corrupt group called the optimates, though they’ve often faced significant opposition by another party, the populares. But as Julius Caesar came of age, the pendulum had swung heavily in favor of the optimates and the populares were nearly wiped out after the death of Caesar’s uncle – the military hero Gaius Marius. The balance of power has swung so far towards the optimates that one of the late dictator Sulla’s most loyal supporters, Dolabella is sure to be completely cleared of the heinous he committed while acting as governor of Macedonia (crimes that include rape, desecration of the local temple to Aphrodite, and levying taxes that went solely to lining his own pockets). Julius Caesar pushes to become the prosecutor at Dolabella’s trial, even if it means making enemies of those in power. After all, it isn’t the first time he’s stood by his principles in the face of their tyranny and it won’t be the last. He doesn’t just want to make his name with this case – he hopes to uphold the legacy of his uncle who taught him so much about who, when, and how to fight.
For my full review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1lV
Rome has long been ruled primarily by a powerful and corrupt group called the optimates, though they’ve often faced significant opposition by another party, the populares. But as Julius Caesar came of age, the pendulum had swung heavily in favor of the optimates and the populares were nearly wiped out after the death of Caesar’s uncle – the military hero Gaius Marius. The balance of power has swung so far towards the optimates that one of the late dictator Sulla’s most loyal supporters, Dolabella is sure to be completely cleared of the heinous he committed while acting as governor of Macedonia (crimes that include rape, desecration of the local temple to Aphrodite, and levying taxes that went solely to lining his own pockets). Julius Caesar pushes to become the prosecutor at Dolabella’s trial, even if it means making enemies of those in power. After all, it isn’t the first time he’s stood by his principles in the face of their tyranny and it won’t be the last. He doesn’t just want to make his name with this case – he hopes to uphold the legacy of his uncle who taught him so much about who, when, and how to fight.
For my full review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1lV