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daychaser 's review for:
Quo Vadis?
by Henryk Sienkiewicz
emotional
tense
medium-paced
welp, Vinicius has ruined all other men for me lmao
if a man isn't so traumatized by the thought of you in pain that he's willing to give himself up to be tortured by Nero a hundred times over then I don't want him
This was so. good. Epic. Philosophical. Religious. Historical.
Quo Vadis takes place in Nero's Rome. For the uninitiated, Nero was one of Rome's crackpot emperors who killed his own mother and tormented everyone. Petronius is a trusted courtier of Nero's whose main goal in life is to experience the pleasures life brings him in his elevated position. His nephew, Vinicius is a centurion in the Roman military and falls in love with Lygia, the daughter of a captured king. However she's a Christian and during this time Christians were persecuted by the Roman emperor.
I recommend this if you enjoy reading about Ancient Roman history. It tells of Nero's time in power including the burning of Rome in AD 64. This history is told through an insanely passionate love story between Vinicius and Lygia and it explores Christianity and faith through times of great suffering.
This romance is pretty wild, epic and all-consuming. Dare I say this is one of my favorite love stories I've ever read?
if a man isn't so traumatized by the thought of you in pain that he's willing to give himself up to be tortured by Nero a hundred times over then I don't want him
This was so. good. Epic. Philosophical. Religious. Historical.
Quo Vadis takes place in Nero's Rome. For the uninitiated, Nero was one of Rome's crackpot emperors who killed his own mother and tormented everyone. Petronius is a trusted courtier of Nero's whose main goal in life is to experience the pleasures life brings him in his elevated position. His nephew, Vinicius is a centurion in the Roman military and falls in love with Lygia, the daughter of a captured king. However she's a Christian and during this time Christians were persecuted by the Roman emperor.
I recommend this if you enjoy reading about Ancient Roman history. It tells of Nero's time in power including the burning of Rome in AD 64. This history is told through an insanely passionate love story between Vinicius and Lygia and it explores Christianity and faith through times of great suffering.
This romance is pretty wild, epic and all-consuming. Dare I say this is one of my favorite love stories I've ever read?
And when he thought that he was loved, that she might do with willingness all that he wished of her, sore and endless sorrow seized him, and a kind of deep tenderness flooded his heart, like a mighty wave. But there were moments, too, in which he grew pale from rage, and delighted in thoughts of humiliation and torture which he would inflict on Lygia when he found her. He wanted not only to have her, but to have her as a trampled slave. At the same time he felt that if the choice was left to him, to be her slave or not to see her in life again, he would rather be her slave. There were days in which he thought of the marks which the lash would leave on her rosy body, and at the same time he wanted to kiss those marks. It came to his head also that he would be happy if he could kill her.
The emotion. The DRAMA.
Anyway, there's a ton of growth both of a religious nature and romantic one that was pretty poignant and emotional to see. Vinicius goes from a selfish privileged Roman to one so faithful through his love of Lygia and faith in God. It was a gripping story, and even if you're not religious I think it could be interesting from a historical and philosophical context.
Despite knowing of the insanity of the Gladiatorial games, the imagery in the last 30% of the book was quite harrowing and disturbing with the level of pain and suffering Nero caused to men, women and children, which gave even more feeling towards Lygia's, Vinicius' and the Christians' plight.
I also LOVED Petronius as a character. He's charming and wickedly smart, but just hopes to enjoy life the luxuries of life. But he cares for his nephew and wants to see him happy and I thought his character arc was really well done.
I recommend this for historical fiction lovers who want to read about Nero's reign through the lens of a powerful love story and the growth of Christianity at the time.
But Vinicius, in love now with her spirit, loved it all the more; and when he was watching over her while asleep, it seemed to him that he was watching over the whole world.
I'm emo.