A review by baggman
Under Tiberius by Nick Tosches

1.0

During my years of reading, the number of books that I, for one reason or another, have not finished have been few. There's just something about starting a book and not finishing it that bothers me. Of late, with so many reading options available, I've reassessed my "Die Hard" attitude, and have adopted a more "What the Heck Am I Doing" philosophy. Under Tiberius fit neatly into this last category.

I waited weeks for this title to become available through my local lending library. I was so enthralled by the plot summary, and extremely high Goodreads ratings that I was literally checking the availability list daily. When I was finally notified that it was available, I was giddy.

To say that this book is slow is a complete misnomer. To say that I found it difficult to read is like saying some of the theories put forth by Stephen Hawking can be difficult to understand. Quotes in Latin, Italian, Greek , Hebrew, and more, it's all here. References to every biblical location I have ever heard of and hundreds that I haven't. The list of ingredients on a typical microwave fast food entree are easier to follow. It just goes on and on and on. I made it to chapter 21, and I give up.

As far as I'm concerned, this book is an example of "Literary Politically Correctness". People are giving it high ratings because they think they should, or because professional critics tell them they should, and not because they really think it was good.