Saturnalia: A Tale of Wickedness and Redemption in Ancient Rome is a fairly straightforward adaption of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol from Victorian London to Imperial Rome. There will be few surprises here for those who have read the original story or witnessed any of the myriad stage or film versions, but that isn't necessarily a flaw: knowing the eventual outcome of the story can sometimes enhance drama rather than undercut it.
As historical fiction, this novel is a mixed success. The author succeeds in portraying the spirit of the time in question (during the Severan Dynasty), and gets a variety of details right (portraying the diversity of Rome at the time, for instance). There may also be a few minor mistakes. The single most noticeable example is a detail concerning the ritus Graecus given correctly in an earlier chapter and then incorrectly in a later one. There is a glossary of Latin terms in the back which may be helpful to some, particularly as there are a few Latin words used which would normally have been translated (i.e. "cerei" instead of "candles").
As a morality tale, the story is markedly more successful. The author very effectively sets up the greed and callousness of the main character early on (going significantly further than did Dickens: Scrooge was only a serious source of distress to his employees, so far as I can recall, while Catus Pompilius seems at times to be a menace to the entire Eternal City), and his change of heart comes gradually enough to be at least partly believable. One interesting thing about this book is how pious it is: reverence for the gods is repeatedly put hand with generosity, familial affection, enjoyment of life, and the other virtues promoted by the text, and it is the gods themselves who intervene to show the main character the error of his ways.
Overall, this book is worth reading. It may even leave you feeling the urge to practice a bit more kindness and generosity in your own life.
No comments:
Post a Comment