If time travel ever becomes a reality, DO NOT travel back to ancient Rome -- unless you have a death wish, because according to this book, everyone in Rome is trying to kill everyone else. I, Claudius is like the Sopranos, but with togas but no baked ziti (tomatoes didn't arrive until the 1500s). First published in 1934, this is the story of Claudius, an unlikely Roman emperor who lived from 10 BC to 54 AD. Claudius stuttered, walked with a limp, and was slightly deaf. Not the first choice for an emperor, normally, but he basically escaped being assassinated like everyone else for that exact reason -- everyone treated him like an idiot, and he never seemed like a threat to anyone. He kept his mouth shut and his ears open and managed to outlive most of his family, which is pretty amazing.
It's quite a fascinating read, but it took awhile -- I can only read about so many backstabbers (sometimes literally) and murderers and plotters, and then I have to take a break. There was so much plotting and deception, I can't believe people carried on normal lives. At one point, Claudius does mention that most of this craziness actually involved only several hundred people, and that four million Roman citizens were basically enjoying normal, productive lives -- it was just the senators and aristocracy and their wives that were all involved in this mayhem.
I liked this book but it took a lot longer than I expected. It's 468 pages, which doesn't usually take me that long, but this book is not a fast read. There's hardly any dialogue, and it's densely packed with historical facts and people, sometimes it just seemed like Roman history thinly disguised as fiction. Graves does a lot of telling, and not showing. I don't know if he was imitating the style of classical writers, but it did get a bit tiresome.
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| Bust of the actual Claudius from a museum in Naples, Italy. |
I really wish I'd gotten around to reading this last winter, before I actually visited Rome. Sadly, I didn't have nearly enough time to see all the things I wanted, though the Colosseum was amazing, and we saw the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill as well. I missed the Circus Maxims and the Appian Way, but we drove under an aqueduct before we even checked into the hotel. There are ruins EVERYWHERE.
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| There's the Colosseum, just smack in the middle of Rome. No big deal. |
I read Cicero's Defence Speeches this year which covered a number of his court cases, and, you know, I do think that those politicians were continually plotting murders and intrigues. I think it would be interesting to live in those times if you were able to stay out of the way! :-)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your review. I must get to this book soon and the mini-series. If my memory serves me, Derek Jacobi plays Claudius in the series and he's one of my favourite actors.
Yes, it was Derek Jacobi. I've checked out the miniseries from the library but I may not get to it before the holidays. Lots of great actors in it, including Patrick Stewart!
DeleteI am always fascinated by ancient Rome, and I loved this book as you did. And you're right, it's no simple book, but Graves wrote it as if we were listening to Claudius, who was telling us his story.
ReplyDeleteIt covers a LOT of information. I think another reviewer described it as info-dumping. I wonder if he was trying to imitate the style of the times.
DeleteI loved this book, but it has been quite a few years since I read it and I had seen at least parts of the mini-series before reading it, so I think that helped keep everyone straight.
ReplyDeleteI'd never seen the series, but I remember seeing it mentioned as one of the Top 12 PBS Masterpiece series of all time. I also wanted to read it because my daughter's had five years of Latin and they always pick up facts about Roman culture, so it's nice to have that in common with her.
DeleteI found it *much* easier to read the second time. I reread it thinking I'd pick up the sequel. I still have yet to do that. I'd probably *need* to reread this one again before tackling it :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't decided yet if I'm going to read the sequel. I would definitely have to read it fairly soon, though, or I'll never be able to keep any of the characters straight!
DeleteI read it in my youth, and I read up to half of it again a few months ago, but it did not stand a second read, imo. The writing was not that impressive (I've been spoiled by authors with striking style), and it was, after all these years, familiar, I guessed what was coming, and though I like Claudius, the plot did not grabbed me as it did the first time around.
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