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A review by elizanderson1066
Pompeii by Robert Harris
1.0
I picked up 'Pompeii' as I assumed it to be a classic holiday read, not expecting much by way of writing quality, but fully anticipating an engrossing story which would keep my mind occupied when travelling. I was very disappointed to find that it did not even deliver on this front.
The action built up incredibly slowly. I spent most of the time wishing for the inevitable conclusion to just happen and be done with it. Harris does not create characters with any particular depth, though I could see the effort he went to on this front with the main protagonist. He was clearly desperate to create a gritty, somewhat flawed, but ultimately morally sound man with a dark past, but ended up with nothing more than a cliche with a backstory that gets alluded to too few times to really build up any pathos.
The other characters are just as flat. Harris attempts the classic and often successful technique of switching between character perspectives during narration - a tool which I love when used effectively to create a fuller and more expansive story. But in this case I was just struck by how little the writing style changed between characters. Harris appeared to make no attempt to convey varied characterisation, and every character comes across as cliched as the protagonist.
Again, I will reiterate how surprising and disappointing it was to read a novel based on such a notoriously dramatic event and be bored for the majority of the book. The ONLY reason I kept reading was to reach the inevitable climax (while I assume that EVERYBODY knows what happened to Pompeii, I'll avoid saying just in case) and even then it fell flat for me in terms of the description. That's another thing I need to mention - Harris' ability to build up a picture of people and places is barely existent. He uses only the most basic of descriptive techniques and due to this I was often unable to visualise the setting at all.
Overall, very disappointing. I was so glad when it finally ended and I could pick up something else. Wouldn't recommend 'Pompeii' to anyone, even as a trashy holiday read. The only positive thing I can say about it is that now I can see the film and happily perve over Kit Harrington without getting distracted at how the adaptation is ruining a good book. If anything, it will be improving it.
The action built up incredibly slowly. I spent most of the time wishing for the inevitable conclusion to just happen and be done with it. Harris does not create characters with any particular depth, though I could see the effort he went to on this front with the main protagonist. He was clearly desperate to create a gritty, somewhat flawed, but ultimately morally sound man with a dark past, but ended up with nothing more than a cliche with a backstory that gets alluded to too few times to really build up any pathos.
The other characters are just as flat. Harris attempts the classic and often successful technique of switching between character perspectives during narration - a tool which I love when used effectively to create a fuller and more expansive story. But in this case I was just struck by how little the writing style changed between characters. Harris appeared to make no attempt to convey varied characterisation, and every character comes across as cliched as the protagonist.
Again, I will reiterate how surprising and disappointing it was to read a novel based on such a notoriously dramatic event and be bored for the majority of the book. The ONLY reason I kept reading was to reach the inevitable climax (while I assume that EVERYBODY knows what happened to Pompeii, I'll avoid saying just in case) and even then it fell flat for me in terms of the description. That's another thing I need to mention - Harris' ability to build up a picture of people and places is barely existent. He uses only the most basic of descriptive techniques and due to this I was often unable to visualise the setting at all.
Overall, very disappointing. I was so glad when it finally ended and I could pick up something else. Wouldn't recommend 'Pompeii' to anyone, even as a trashy holiday read. The only positive thing I can say about it is that now I can see the film and happily perve over Kit Harrington without getting distracted at how the adaptation is ruining a good book. If anything, it will be improving it.