Pompeii (historical fiction)Robert Harris (2003) |
|
|
THE A5 BOOK REVIEWThe ill-fated story of Pompeii comes alive with Robert Harris’ fictional story of some of the Roman Empire’s most prosperous citizens a few days prior to the impending volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. The time is the end of summer, when the filthy rich are focused on luxurious parties, tourists are enjoying beautiful weather with their seaside vacations, and the world’s largest navy lies peacefully at anchor. One man though, Marcus Attilus Primus, grows increasingly concerned with some signs of water failing to flow, something that hasn’t happened in decades. Attilus is the engineer recently put in charge of the massive Aqua Augusta aqueduct, upon the suspicious disappearance of his predecessor, bringing him responsibility for the millions of gallons of fresh water delivered regularly to support the people who lived around the Bay of Naples. Few others recognize that there is a possible crisis; Attilus needs to maneuver through corruption and politics to secure the help of Pliny, the real-life prominent scholar who commands the army, to back an expedition to Pompeii to find and repair the fault along the aqueduct’s sixty-mile main line on the slope of Mount Vesuvius. It is a compelling narrative of a tragic event in this civilization’s history, and a book that will be difficult for most to put down.
Click here to see reviews and prices for this book on Amazon.
|
 |
ABOUT ROBERT HARRISRobert Harris is a popular author, a television correspondent with the BBC and a newspaper columnist with the London Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph. He is best known for the novels Enigma and Act of Oblivion. He lives in Berkshire, England.
Photo Credit: Krimidoedel Dr. Jost Hindersmann, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
|
LEAVE YOUR OWN REVIEW HEREGREAT QUOTES FROM ROBERT HARRIS' POMPEII"The destination of the journey could not be altered, only the manner in which one approached it - whether one chose to walk erect or be dragged complaining through the dust."
MAP - POMPEII & MOUNT VESUVIUS, ITALY |
|
