Pompeii

by Robert Harris

During a sweltering week in late August, as Rome's richest citizens relax in their villas around Pompeii and Herculaneum, there are ominous warnings that something is going wrong. Wells and springs are failing, a man has disappeared, and now the greatest aqueduct in the world - the mighty Aqua Augusta - has suddenly ceased to flow . . .

Through the eyes of four characters - a young engineer, an adolescent girl, a corrupt millionaire and an elderly scientist - Robert Harris brilliantly recreates a luxurious world on the brink of destruction.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Italy, Thriller, Audiobook, Mystery

393 pages, ebook

First published November 21, 2003

About the author

ROBERT HARRIS is the author of nine best-selling novels: Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel, Pompeii, Imperium, The Ghost Writer, Conspirata, The Fear Index, and An Officer and a Spy. Several of his books have been adapted to film, most recently The Ghost Writer, directed by Roman Polanski. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages. He lives in the village of Kintbury, England, with his wife, Gill Hornby.

Reviews

[Adina ( not enough time ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started to read this novel after I visited Pompeii. I was impressed by the ruins of the city and its tragic history. in addition, I am a bit of a Volcano enthusiast, so I thought reading this will both help me find out more about life in that period and about the eruption. Reading a fast paced novel while travelling was a plus. It did deliver on all aspects, but it was nothing extraordinary. What made me give the novel less than 4 stars, was the inappropriate language and behaviour compared to the period. The author kept using words that had no meaning at that time, too modern. I wasn't expecting a book in latin but some phrases just did not sound right in this kind of novel. Also, some adventures of the main character were to far-fetched. It seems he survived the eruption even though he was almost at the top of the mountain. Well, he actually beat death on too many other occasions. The love story...my eyes rolled quite a few times.

So, a nice beach read with some interesting history thrown in for good measure.

[Jim Fonseca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attilius's occupation is an aquarius in the Roman Empire, a job description that nowadays would be "director of waterworks operations and maintenance for the southern district of Italy." As the earth beings to swell and shake in ominous warning in advance of the tragedy that is to come, the main aqueduct cracks and fails and Attilius is sent out to repair it. So this is a historical novel and we learn of life in the Roman Empire around AD 79 at the time of the eruption of Vesuvius. Here are masters and slaves, filthy rich and beggars. We get a little romance as Attilius meets the lovely daughter of a viscous, cunning landlord who used to be a slave himself. We learn a lot about Roman culture: meals, daily life, transportation technology, ships, soldiers, relations between men and women, political and financial corruption, and the unique role of the baths in Roman culture. It's an old fashioned boy gets girl despite obstacles romance story during a fast-paced hectic three-day period between when the aqueduct fails and the volcano blows. We learn about the aqueduct system, tunnels, reservoirs and siltation tanks. We learn of famous real-life Romans such as the general and prolific scholar Pliny the Elder and his nephew, Pliny the Younger.

[Henry Avila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pompeii... demolished in the world's most famous volcanic eruption in A.D. 79 killing thousands at the apex of the Roman Empire, ironically the people never knew Mount Vesuvius was this a volcano; understandable since the previous significant one occurred 1,800 years before, no town existed, and the name unknown to them because the word hadn't been invented yet, but soon would... lets say by borrowing from the Roman god of fire... Vulcan... Our story unfolds when a young despondent man of 27, a recent widower Marcus Attilius Primus arrives in the prosperous resort city, the kind that if you have money they like you, he has an important job here, as an Aquarius the chief engineer of Aqua Augusta a huge aqueduct which supplies 250,000 inhabitants with life giving water around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor Exomnius vanished, where is he ?...Wasn't he from the island of Sicily in the Mount Etna area? This
confounded mystery puzzles everyone, however life continues and Rome quickly sends a replacement because prominent officials have villas there, many powerful Senators, a bright honest individual causes Marcus numerous problems the era is shall we hint a little corrupt. Pompeii is ruled by a wealthy businessman Numerius Popidius Ampliatus a former slave, a man of immense courage he has to show the people his... preeminence.

After an earthquake of almost two decades ago flattens the city Ampliatus flourishes, maybe unethically done nonetheless the houses were rebuilt...bribes the local magistrates into doing his bidding all for the good of Pompeii's future he implies. This is not a dull novel so complications occur, a water break in the aqueduct must be found swiftly, and repaired, the engineer falls in love... surprise surprise with Corelia the daughter of the cruel Ampliatus who hates him, you can't trust a man who will not accept a kickback.. And we haven't yet mentioned the great Pliny the Elder, writer, soldier , philosopher, naturalist, adviser to Roman Emperors Vespasian and successor Titus his tough son, the new Caesar of a few months, the latter a former comrade in the Germanic campaign and now the obese old man in poor health is admiral of the fleet , a honor bestowed primarily for his loyalty to the ruling family in actuality has very little nautical experience, luckily the Roman naval port is Misenum close to the disaster. Moreover Pliny a very curious man indeed prides himself in knowing all, his countless books testifies to this fact. Besides his talented nephew of 18, Pliny the Younger can help him observe the catastrophe, anyway a closer look would be better...However the book comes alive when the dead fall under the avalanche that buries Pompeii under rocks and ash, toxic clouds of gas arise over 20 miles in height, noon becomes midnight, darkness engulfs the stunned citizens, walking blindly in the deluge nearby Herculaneum too, the grim sounds travel to Rome 150 miles away as the excruciating heat flows down from the mountain frying the victims just six miles distant. Pompeii a
celebrated town of 20,000 disappears and is forgotten for seventeen centuries...A marvelous, exciting book the only fault is it's 200 pages too short I wanted to learn more about the doomed city and the people...a lost civilization well worth knowing.

[Lance Greenfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of a latter day Super Mario, an Italian plumber who overcomes very difficult challenges to fix the water supply to Napoli and surrounding areas before the local volcano erupts to ruin everything for everybody.

OK, I admit that I am grossly trivialising a tremendous story, which is really about Marcus Attilius Primus, the aquarius, or chief water engineer, who is sent to the Bay of Naples to manage the water supply to all of the towns in the area. The main artery of the supply is the aqueduct, Aqua Augusta, which Attilius's grandfather may have had a hand in building under the supervision of the great Agrippa. Water engineering has been the career path of Atillius's family back through at least four generations.

From the off, Attilius is up against it. His predecessor disappeared mysteriously, and neither his team of engineers and slaves nor those masters who govern Naples and the surrounding area, are inclined to trust the new aquarius.

The first chapter opens with the horrendous execution of a slave who has been held responsible for the deaths of one of the local lord's prize fish. The lord's daughter, accompanied by the unfortunate slave's mother, urgently seek the help of Attilius, who quickly discovers that it is something in the water which has killer the precious fish. But they are too late to save the wretched slave.

Events unfold and develop during the two days leading up to the famous eruption which buried Pompeii.

This is a rivetting read, if ever there was one. As you would expect, there are many dangers to overcome, and, as you read, you will be wondering who will survive and who will not. This does not become clear until the final pages. I have to confess that I was wishing for the demise of certain characters, whilst hoping for the survival of others. That is a sign of how well Robert Harris engages the reader with the actors in this story.

Definitely merits five stars.

[Mark Porton · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, which obliterated several towns in southern Italy – such as Pompeii and Herculaneum.

My first Robert Harris novel and I enjoyed it. He integrated the factual aspects of this event with a cluster of characters which provided a personal perspective of this tragedy.

Attilius is our main character – he’s an engineer of the extensive, and remarkable Aqua Augusta, that provided water to numerous towns in southern Italy during this period. This aqueduct was an engineering masterpiece. As you’d expect, with Mount Vesuvius getting all excited and all, there was a great deal of subterraneous activity, resulting in water supply restrictions to towns, homes, and businesses.

Attilius is new to the area and must deal with local politics, he is viewed with suspicion. Particularly by Ampliatus – an ex-slave who has become a major player in local business and politics. Ampliatus is a nasty piece of work, but he has a beautiful daughter called Corelia. Attilius fancies her (of course) but he needs to sort out this water problem first. So, he heads towards Mount Vesuvius, with a team of recalcitrant characters, to determine the source of the problem with an aim to fixing it.

Well, we all know – Vesuvius blows her stack. There is nothing anyone can do, and this turns into a big-screen disaster movie. This is how it felt. Sure, the whole romance thing was a bit much for me – but I suspended corny belief, to ‘enjoy’ the spectacle. Harris really painted a colourful picture of the lives of ordinary people in antiquity. This I liked. This I liked very much.

I also enjoyed the appearance of the real character – Pliny the Elder (who was older than Pliny the Younger), he was an admiral and a genius naturalist. His observations of this event were later used by Pliny the Younger (who was younger than Pliny the Elder) as a contemporaneous account of this event.

Yes, this was good. Yes, this was exciting – a bit like Titanic, we know ‘she’ll blow’ but we’re invested in the stories of the characters. Poor Jack.

4 Stars

[Paul Weiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

A natural history page-turning thriller!

Dateline, August 79 AD: Marcus Attilius Primus, a young, savvy aquarius, or water engineer, has been sent from Rome as replacement for the AWOL Exomnius to ensure the proper maintenance of Aqua Augusta, the aqueduct that supplies Pompeii, Herculaneum and the towns on the Bay of Naples. Investigation into the problem of the aqueduct drying up and its failure to deliver its critical liquid payload uncovers not only municipal theft of water and graft of epic proportions but natural problems and concerns relating to Vesuvius and its pending eruption - tremors, pollution of the water with sulphur emissions, rockfalls, and shifts and bulges in the earth's surface, not to mention breakages and blockages in the aqueduct itself.

Insofar as the eruption of Vesuvius and the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum are concerned, we all know how the story ends. So it fell to Harris' skill as a writer to build and maintain momentum and suspense in spite of that. With the clever device of a brief excerpt from a scientific treatise on volcanism serving as a preface to every chapter plus absolutely scintillating descriptive writing, what might have been a monumentally boring exposition of the final few hours leading up to Vesuvius' cataclysmic eruption becomes rather a thrilling natural history page turner that actually had my stomach twisted up into knots as I felt the clock ticking toward the inevitable catastrophe!

The resolution of Exomnius' disappearance and the discovery of the theft of water by Numerius Popidius Ampliatus, an ex-slave and now Pompeii's wealthiest citizen, serve as a springboard for Harris' outstanding description of an extraordinary cross section of daily life in the ancient Roman provinces - slaves vs freemen, men vs women, and children, the luxury and indolence of the wealthy vs the difficulties and squalid conditions of the poor, politicians vs their constituency, the use of the "games" as a means of distracting and buying off the general population, the baths, and the Roman diet. His charming portrayal of Pliny the Elder and the discussions surrounding the aqueduct problem will amaze and delight readers with the surprising level of sophistication of Roman science and engineering.

Sadly, the dénouement after the eruption and Harris' winding down of the romantic involvement of Marcus Attilius with Corelia Ampliata, who is promised under a contract of marriage to one of Pompeii's leading politicos, just doesn't come anywhere close to the standards of the first three-quarters of the book! What might have been a five-star book that I was tempted to place in my "Top Ten All-Time" list became merely good as I closed the covers on the final few chapters! Too bad, for sure, but 4-star recommendations are nothing to sniff at! POMPEI was well worth my time and I enjoyed it immensely.

Paul Weiss

[Neil Pierson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It should be a Two-For-One: A suspense novel to take to the beach; and some insight into life in the Roman Empire and the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. (And maybe a small tutorial in primitive plumbing.) Unfortunately, it turns into an 0-For-One.

The plot is serviceable. Marcus Attilius Primus is an engineer newly in charge of the section of aqueduct that services Pompeii. He investigates the mysterious failure of the water supply and along the way, discovers that his predecessor was corrupt. He falls in love and is stalked by bad guys who want to shut him off permanently. Meanwhile, Vesuvius prepares to make it all moot.

But the characters are caricatures. The hero is REALLY, REALLY NOBLE, the villain is AWFULLY, AWFULLY EVIL, and the love interest is darned good looking. Life in the Empire is similarly exaggerated with lingering attention to the grotesque and decadent but almost nothing about how most people lived.

I was relieved when Vesuvius erupted.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is only the second Robert Harris novel I’ve read, the other being An Officer and a Spy. On the whole I didn’t find this one quite as compelling – apart from the last 100 pages or so – but it was still a decent story. Harris knows how to deliver for his readers.

The main character here is one Attilius, who arrives in Pompeii in the days leading up to the eruption of Vesuvius, to take up the post of Aquarius, or chief engineer of the Aqua Augusta, the aqueduct bringing the water supply to the Roman towns on the Bay of Naples. His predecessor in the post has mysteriously vanished.

It’s a good choice as the vehicle for the plot, allowing the reader to marvel at Roman ingenuity as well as to understand how much the area depended on the aqueduct. Attilius is a morally upright character, verging on priggish. By way of contrast we have a character called Ampliatus, an ex-slave who has made himself enormously wealthy through property speculation and corrupt business dealings. As a freedman he cannot stand for political office, but he has become the puppet master of those elected. One of the men he has in his power is the son of his former owner, and there may be an element of revenge in his motivation. The reader isn’t invited to feel much sympathy for Ampliatus, though we are told that as a boy he was sexually abused by his former owner, so his desire for power and influence may derive from his powerlessness at that time.

Probably my favourite character in the book is a real-life one, Pliny the Elder, who of course gave us the best description of the eruption. I couldn’t help liking Pliny, at least as Harris portrays him here.

There is a romantic sub-plot to the main story, which I thought was a bit formulaic.

Although I could pick holes over things like the romance element, the story moves along at a good pace, and where this book really scores is in the description of the two day eruption, which takes place over the last 100 pages or so. At this point the novel becomes a page-turner, and I also now have a better grasp of what actually happened at Pompeii over those 2 days. People who know what they are talking about have praised the historical accuracy of Harris' description of the eruption.

A worthwhile visit to Roman Pompeii!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a bit fascinated with the idea of Pompeii since I was a girl and the National Geographic ran photos of the people frozen in mid-flight trying to escape the horrors of the eruption of Vesuvius. Robert Harris has visited Pompeii through the story of Attilius, the engineer in charge of the aqueduct that served the area. Before the eruption, before the horror, there is a problem with the flow of the water. Attilius seeks to repair the breach in the aqueduct and this leads him to be in Pompeii at exactly the wrong time.

I did enjoy reading the story. There was the tension of knowing what was to come and the wish to see Attilius survive the inevitable. I can imagine that much of what people felt and the reactions that came too late were exactly as Harris depicted. However, I could never become truly invested in his characters and I therefore felt very little for their plight. It seemed a bit trite, like a 1970s disaster movie (think Poseidon Adventure), although I do not know what I could have expected him to do with this foregone scenario.

Not a bad tale, just not a great one. I would still like to go and see the ruins of Pompeii for myself. It is easy to form a tightness in the chest when one thinks about how horrible this must have been for the actual people who lived there. How hopeless it was in those moments before the cloud of fiery gas spewed down the side of the mountain and froze them in time forever.

[Valeriu Gherghel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acțiunea acestui roman valabil (merită citit) e simplă. Durează trei zile, chiar mai puțin. Apa din portul Misenum începe să miroasă urît, e otrăvită. Locuitorii intră în panică, fîntînile, rezervorul vor fi închise. Pînă și peștii din crescătoria lui Numerius Popidius Ampliatus plutesc pe deasupra apei fără suflare. Ampliatus crede că a fost neglijența unui sclav, vrea să-l arunce în bazinul cu pești carnivori. Fiica lui, Corelia, fire simțitoare, îl cheamă pe inginerul Marcus Attilius Primus să-l calmeze pe furiosul libert. Attilius reușește să-l liniștească și îl salvează pe sclav. Între el și Corelia are loc un „coup de foudre” etc.

Attilius pleacă să verifice apeductul, înțelege că din adîncul muntelui se ridică gaze otrăvitoare. Repară pereții prăbușiți, ar trebui să răsufle ușurat, dar are o presimțire neagră: totul anunță un dezastru iminent. Muntele va exploda, lava întunecată va acoperi localitățile din jur, inclusiv orașul Pompei. Nimeni nu înțelege prea bine ce se întîmplă, nici învățatul Plinius cel Bătrân.

Narațiunea are ritm, te ține cu sufletul la gură, știi sfîrșitul (din lecția de istorie) și, totuși, ți-ai dori ca evenimentul să nu se petreacă. Harris se pricepe să povestească alert. Drumul lui Attilius către casa Coreliei (vrea s-o salveze) e memorabil: „Se lăsă în genunchi și își afundă mîinile în nisip, și în acea clipă își dădu seama că totul va fi nimicit – el însuși, Pliniu, Corelia, biblioteca de la Herculaneum, flota, orașele din jurul golfului, apeductul, Roma, Caesar, tot ce trăise sau se construise vreodată: în cele din urmă va mai fi doar o întindere de stîncă și o mare fără sfîrșit. Din ei nu va rămâne nici măcar urma pașilor…”. Fraza nu sună deloc rău. Attilius o ia pe Corelia și se refugiază amîndoi în apeduct, mai mult nu știm...

Sfîrșitul amintește de finalul romanului Notre-Dame de Paris de Victor Hugo:

„Cea mai răspîndită dintre toate poveștile era legenda unui bărbat și a unei femei care ieșiseră din pămînt în amurg, în ultima zi a erupției. Se spunea că merseseră pe dedesubt… Dar cei mai mulți găseau că povestea e trasă de păr, și toți oamenii cu scaun la cap spuneau că e o simplă superstiție”.

Păcat de iubirea celor doi tineri. A ținut prea puțin...

P. S. Un roman istoric este anulat dacă autorul lui se pierde în anacronisme. Un anacronism este să spui despre libertul Ampliatus că e un „milionar”. Termenul e bun pentru bogătașii de astăzi, mai puțin sau deloc pentru bogătașii romani de odinioară. Un alt anacronism e să spui că el trăia într-un „apartament” ori că în Pompeii se găsea o „fabrică de sosuri de pește”. Sau să vorbești de „profit”. Scopul probabil al autorului a fost să-l ajute pe cititor să priceapă anumite realități din Italia romană, dar astfel de anacronisme sînt stînjenitoare. (14.07.25.l).

[Kirsten McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been to Pompeii twice, once in 1992, and again in 2017. And I'd go again in a heartbeat. What happened in Pompeii is a valuable lesson in listening to the scientists - which we should always do! This book was a breathless romp through the Roman aqueducts, and the life giving importance of water to the townships they served. I couldn't put it down.
If you've ever visited the ruins of Pompeii, or dreamed of visiting them, then this is the book for you. Everything is so beautifully described - the roads, the excess, the trade, the normality of life. Then it's all lost. And Pliny! What a man. What an intellect. No modern man can compare.
100% recommend this book. Historical fiction at its finest.

[J TC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robert Harris – Pompeia

De Robert Harris li recentemente dois livros – Conclave e V2. Se com o primeiro fiquei preso pela forma minuciosa e elegante como descreveu a cúria romana e o ambiente da eleição de um Papa, no segundo, V2, senti-me digamos, traído nas expectativas que, achava eu, tinham sido demasiado altas.

Quando comecei a leitura deste “Pompeia”, publicado em 2003 e com uma primeira edição em português em 2022, fi-lo assim tempestiva e sem a promessa de uma qualquer notoriedade. Foi por isso que me pareceu a leitura ideal a iniciar enquanto cruzava o atlântico a 4.500 pés de altitude.
Na primeira página, nas notas do autor, este descreve de que forma como os romanos dividiam o dia (em duodécimas) e a noite (oito turnos), designações que habilmente usou para dar título aos vários capítulos. Assim, e logo no início me apercebi que se não abandonasse a postura depreciativa e se mantivesse o “pé atrás” rapidamente me arriscava a sucumbir à minha própria desconfiança.
E não demorei muito a baixar a guarda e deixar-me invadir pela clareza da escrita, pelas figuras de estilo, pela elegância do enredo, e principalmente conhecimento que o autor denota tanto dos assuntos da vulcanologia, como dos hábitos da vida mundana dos romanos nesse que veio posteriormente a ser conhecido como o ano 79 d.C.
Pompeia de Robert Harris, não é só um Thriller, não é só um livro ficcionado, é muito mais que isso. É um romance, bem guarnecido pelo conhecimento do autor sobre os hábitos e modo de vida dos romanos do sul da península italiana, da forma como se organizavam e geriam a água com as suas magnificas e resistentes obras de engenharia, bem como sobre a ciência e semiologia dos vulcões. Um trabalho de pesquisa notável.
E se esse deslumbramento não bastasse, brinda-nos Robert Harris nesta história ficcionada, mas plausível – podia muito bem ter sido assim, muitíssimo bem escrita e com muitos e variados pormenores, pormenores que habitualmente só são visíveis em escritores maiores.

Quando aterrei no aeroporto Lisboa tinha apenas lido algumas dezenas de páginas. Este não é um livro para se ler de supetão como se não houvesse amanhã. Como quase sempre nas coisas boas, não é para sôfregos, é para saborear.
Espero que também goste! Bon appetit.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a sweltering week in late August 79AD, where better to enjoy the last days of summer than on the beautiful Bay of Naples? But as Rome's richest citizens relax in their villas in Pompeii and Herculaneum, there are ominous warnings that something is going wrong. Wells and springs are failing, a man has disappeared, and now the greatest aqueduct in the world - Aqua Augusta- has ceased to flow.

Marcus Attilius Primus, who is aquarius or water-engineer for the entirety of this Roman Costa del Crime, where a horde of pimps and prostitutes, felons and fraudsters, dubious merchants and bent politicians are situated. Attilius's only concern, however, is the great aqueduct and why it has suddenly run dry. But he also has to deal with a troublesome workforce, an adolescent girl, a corrupt millionaire and an elderly scientist.

There is inevitable degree of predictability here. I cannot imagine that anyone will not know that sooner or later, Vesuvius will erupt and an awful lot of people will get killed. However, predictability doesn't always mean cliché.

There isn't an awful lot of character development on show here but it doesn't really seem to matter an awful lot. It soon becomes obvious that Harris has done his research and colourfully evokes the sights and sounds of this ancient world where being a slave is absolutely awful and being a free-man isn't exactly a bag of roses either. Where being a woman means being little more than a chattel to be used as your master sees fit. Harris appears genuinely in awe of Roman engineering and his admiration is infectious.

As with a lot of historical fiction you have to your imagination loose, because despite the historical research that has gone into the setting there will also be quite a few leaps of faith with the plot and that is certainly the case here. However, the plot is fast paced and I found it easy to get caught up in it. On the whole I found this a fast paced and enjoyable read that had me gripped right up until the end.

[Joy D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, covering a period of four days in 79 A.D. Attilius is an Aquarius, an engineer in charge of ensuring the water supply, of the Bay of Naples region. Attilius has been sent by Rome to replace the previous Aquarius, who has disappeared. The plot revolves around the Aqua Augusta, which has been damaged by natural phenomena.

The pace is somewhat slow in the beginning but picks up pace as it proceeds. The author introduces a number of characters, including Pliny the Elder, though they take secondary importance to the natural disaster. The narrative provides plenty of period details, showing the way of life of the residents and how much they stand to lose. Subplots relate to power, corruption, ambition, greed, romance, jealousy, and overindulgences.

Harris has created a compelling narrative, despite an ending that is already known. He maintains dramatic tension by showing the gradual build-up of pressure prior to the cataclysmic event that the reader knows is coming, but the characters do not. Both the storyline and epigraphs of each chapter are filled with history and science (volcanology, hydrology, geology). Recommended to those interested in a nature-driven survival story that educates while it entertains.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geology meets Volcanology meets All Round Mr Nice Guy.
Having read Imperium by Robert Harris few short months ago I found that I quite enjoyed his uncomplicated writing style. I in no way mean unsophisticated or simplistic, for he is an author who can comfortably shoulder the mantle of an old fashioned storyteller.
Many authors try to be story tellers, but they over write or have not the skill and under write, or get caught up in too many tangents, thinking that everything they do has to be with the single intent of delivering the next great International Epic Bestseller.
Pompeii certainly became an International Bestseller, but it was not really an epic. It was a story of a man - an Aquarius - and was melded with a intriguing blend of geology, volcanology and precise Roman history. Very well done, in my opinion, but no epic.

I do not know if the geological and volcanological elements would put others off, whether others may prefer a story about people only, but I happened to find them extraordinarily fascinating.
I have a feeling the book was not what some may expect. Where you may have expected a Wilbur Smith type epic - multiple characters and their lives in the lead up to the Mt Vesuvius explosion - that is not what you got.

Robert Harris gave you instead, Attilius (the all round Mr Nice Guy), an Aquarius who came to the Bay of Naples as a result of the mysterious disappearance of the former Aquarius, Exomnius, and took over the running of the Aqueducts. And for the most part, this is Attilius' story as he finds the water supply in disarray and bit by bit, clue by clue, he starts to unravel the causes. Will it be in time though? Obviously, since everyone knows what happened to Pompeii and Herculaneum, everyone will realise he cannot be in time to do anything about those disasters, but can he be in time to avert others?

I found the final third of the book to be the most compelling. The eruption and the various stages of the eruption and how it might be experienced from different places in the surrounding area. In the towns, at the base of the volcano, on the water, in the Bay. I was mesmerised by it all.
There was a moment where I thought the book perhaps could have finished and yet it went on. And there was a scene or two that seemed inserted to make the book longer as those scenes kind of tripped up the urgent momentum of the book during the eruption.
But I had to give the book 5 stars. It deserved it in my opinion. For despite its flaws, it had me at ave.

*nb: ave is a Roman hello.

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volcanoes.
What child isn’t intrigued with their power and scared by their force?
We don’t build major population centers around them for good reason. But in ancient times, a dormant volcano was not well understood and the resorts/trade centers of Pompeii and Herculaneum became rich and populous in the shadow of Vesuvius, and Harris writes about the consequences.

This is a novel but it has much of the science of volcanic eruption that I found in Simon Winchester’s Krakatoa https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
But, more credit to Harris, he weaves it into a plot involving a new “aquarius,” a chief engineer responsible for one of the Roman Empire’s aqueducts. The Aqua Augusta’s previous engineer has gone missing and Marcus Attilus Primus, from a long line of water engineers is persuaded to fill the gap. What he doesn’t know is that Vesuvius is about to erupt and that its early stages are responsible for the problems with the aqueduct.

We know a great deal about the lifestyles of this period of Roman history because they have been perfectly captured in the ash, etc. by the eruption. Harris creates a story of vanity, corruption, duty, honor, family and politics that brings it all into focus. 4.5*

I want to add a few quotes:

“Baths were not a luxury. Baths were the foundation of civilization. Baths were what raised even the meanest citizen of Rome above the level of the wealthiest hairy-assed barbarian. Baths instilled the triple disciplines of cleanliness, heathfulness, and strict routine. Was it not to feed the baths that the aqueducts had been invented in the first place? Had not the baths spread the Roman ethos across, Europe, Africa and Asia as effectively as the legions, so that in whatever town in this far-flung empire a man might find himself, he could at least be sure of finding this one precious piece of home?”

“While rocks are extremely strong in compression, they are weak in tension…Thus, the strength of the rocks capping a cooling and vesiculating magma body is easily exceeded long before the magma is sold. Once this happens, an explosive eruption occurs.”

“But it was not jus Pompeii’s buildings he knew. It was its people, and the mysterious working of its soul, especially at elections: five neighborhood wards – Forenses, Campanienses, Salinienses, Urbulanenses, Pagani – in each of which he had an agent: and all the craft guilds – the laundrymen, the bakers, the fishermen, the perfume makers, the goldsmiths, and the rest – again, he had them covered.”


Discoveries about Pompeii are still being made. In 2020, A fast-food eatery at Pompeii has been excavated, helping to reveal dishes that were popular for the citizens of the ancient Roman city who were partial to eating out.
“Pompeii Archaeological Park’s longtime chief, Massimo Osanna said Saturday that while some 80 such fast-foods have been found at Pompeii, it is the first time such a hot-food-drink eatery — known as a thermopolium — was completely unearthed.”

https://apnews.com/article/animals-c0...

[Chris D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

How do you relate a story around an event that a majority of the readership already has knowledge. You really can't have a story that revolves around everybody dying. That is kind of depressing, so Robert Harris gives us a novel with the leading character being a water engineer who slowly realizes what is in store for the population of Pompeii and the surrounding cities.

I was very much invested in his engineer and his interactions with many citizens of Pompeii, who the end is coming. In this book we meet a former slave who has become very rich but is also very nasty. We meet Pliny the Elder, probably the most famous person who perished at Pompeii, and we even get a romance, which was not completely successfully told. Harris succeeds in making this suspenseful as we the reader counts down to the inevitable.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. The main character Atticus a water engineer was well written. The slight romance not unplaced. Against the backdrop of the eruption of Vesuvius the aquarius must find and repair a blocked aqueduct.

Pompeii and the description of Roman life is interesting a class system built on slaves and obedience. Pliny was a great character and his stoicism captured well by Harris. The slave who became wealthy through corruption and belief was believable. The volcanic description and chronology of the eruption set against Atticus race to unblock and repair the aqueduct is tense and exciting.

The ending was a bit weak and I would have preferred a more darker ending. Overall though I will be reading more Harris novels.

[Taury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pompeii by Robert Harris is a gripping historical novel set in the days leading up to the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The story is about Marcus Attilius Primus, an engineer, who discovers a mysterious blockage in the Aqua Augusta. This is an aqueduct that supplies water to the towns around the Bay of Naples. He uncovers signs of an impending disaster. Harris masterfully blends historical detail with suspense, which creates a portrayal of ancient Roman life. The novel is both informative and thrilling. Harris’ amazing research and attention to detail makes it a wonderful read.

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2007, and its a most splendid standalone book about the eruption of Vesuvius, and its two main witnesses, the engineer, Marcus Attilius Primus, and the scholar and commander of the navy, Pliny.

It tells the story, which is set in August, the disaster that will take place and that will set the world around Pompeii and the Roman world on fire.

With the Roman Navy at Misenum, tourists in Baiae, Herculaneum and Pompeii, and engineer Attilius, a decent and reliable man, heads towards the aquaduct to repair it, before the reservoir runs dry.

With a promise to Pliny that repairs will be successful, not knowing what is about to happen when he gets to that place, Attilius and Pliny and many other people in that area will encounter a disaster that is unbeknown to each and everyone, and that will cost the lives of many.

What is follow is a terrific tale about the historical events about the eruption of Vesuvius and the consequences it will bring to human lives, and all this is brought to us, particularly from the views of the engineer Attilius and the scientist Pliny, in a most magnificent fashion.

Highly recommended, for this is a superb standalone novel about the Roman history about and around the eruption of Vesuvius, and that's why I like to call this book: "A Wonderful Eruption Of Vesuvius Tale"!

[Shirin (unavailable) fictional men only · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volcanic eruption in A.D. 79 in Pompeii was beautifully and precisely described in three points of view, Roman culture, fictional story, and geological events.


با خود گفت شاید مادر طبیعت به خاطر خودخواهی و حرص و آز، قصد تنبیه ما را دارد. ما همیشه او را به وسیله آهن و چوب، و آتش و سنگ آزار میدهیم. زمینش را میکنیم و خاکش را در دریا میریزیم. دل کوه هایش را میکنیم و سنگ های معدنی اش را بیرون میکشیم. چگونه میتوان او را سرزنش کرد که گاهی از فرط خشم به خود بلرزد؟ (صفحه 224)
ترجمه ی خجسته کیهان

[Leila · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most interesting take on the well known tale. Robert Harris is a favourite author.

[ESRAA MOHAMED · Rating 4 out of 5]

رواية أخذت ظاهرة ثانوية من كارثة كبيرة وحولتها إلى فكرة أساسية لحدث تاريخي حدث بالفعل متوجاً ببطولة شخصيات واقعية وخيالية أيضاً وهو ما أثار انتباهي وإعجابي.

لتوضيح الجملة التي في الأعلى علي سرد ملخص الرواية ولن يعتبر حرق لأي حدث بغض النظر عن معرفة المعظم بكارثة بومبي وجبل الفيزوف (فيسوفيوس) عام 79 بعد الميلاد .

تبدأ الرواية بساقي شاب أتيليوس - مهندس مياه - تم انتدابه من روما للبحث في ظاهرة جفاف غريبة قد تهدد المدن القائمة على ضفاف قناة الـ أوغوستا ليذهب إلى ميسينوم وهي على مسافة لا بأس بها من المدينة المنكوبة بومبي، فيقرر جمع فريق عمل للبحث عن الأسباب التي أدت إلى توقف بعض القنوات الفرعية من الـ أوغوستا وإيجاد حل سريع لها، يعاني المهندس من كره العمال وعدم توافر أي معلومات دقيقة بخصوص القناة وذلك لاختفاء المهندس السابق في ظروف غامضة.

في البداية تشتت ذهني وداومت على الرجوع إلى الخريطة في أول الرواية كي أحاول أن أكتشف علاقة ميسينوم ببومبي فهي المدينة التي ينبغي على الكاتب توطين الأحداث بها وليس مدينة تبعد عنها وما علاقة الجفاف بثوران بركان جبل الفيزوف ؟!

وظهر ذكاء المؤلف لجعلي أتابع إشارات الكارثة كأي بطل في روايته بدأت العلامات بانحسار الآبار الجوفية وظهور رائحة كبريت مثيرة للغثيان في مصادر المياه بالإضافة إلى نفوق الأسماك في فيلات الأغنياء المعتمدة على جزء من مياه القناة لضخ المياه في الأحواض.

لم يعتمد المؤلف فقط على وصف جغرافي يسلب اللب ولا على وصف اجتماعي لكل مظاهر الحياة الرومانية ليجعلني أتخيل كل شيء كأنني بينهم ولكن نجح أيضا في خلط النوايا البشرية الدنيئة والجشع والطمع المتأصلين في البشر منذ بداية الخلق، وأهداني فيلم متكامل في خيالي مع تصوير داخلي وخارجي لحركة الناس في الحياة الرومانية وردود أفعالهم تجاه الكوارث وصراعهم للبقاء لأجل الحياة.

وكانت الشخصية المحورية للشر هي أمبلياتوس العبد الذي حرر نفسه بالحيلة ومن بعدها صار يمتلك السلطة والمال واليد العليا في ميسينوم وبومبي فكان هو المحرك الرئيسي لمجلس الحكام والأغنياء من خلف الستار.

وعودة إلي المهندس أتيليوس الذي يقابل صدفة كوريليا ابنة أمبلياتوس ويقوده قدره إلى بومبي وسوء حظه يقنعه بالبحث وراء سر جبل الفيزوف والغيوم البيضاء المحيطة به وحتى عندما تسنح له فرصة الهرب والنجاة من الهول الذي وقع والجنون الذي استعر في سكان مدينتي بومبي وهيركولانيوم يتخذ قرار بالرجوع لإنقاذ كوريليا من قبضة أبيها المجنون.



الشخصية الأهم بالنسبة لي كان بليني وبعد بحث صغير اكتشفت أنه كان حقيقي ويُعرف باسم بليني الأكبر وهو مؤلف كتاب التاريخ الطبيعي وكانت هذه النقطة متعة شخصية لي لإدراج شخصية تاريخية حقيقية في أحداث رواية تصف كارثة حدثت بالفعل مع شخصيات خيالية ووصف شجاعة بليني وحماسته لاستكشاف ظاهرة التجلي ( ثوران البركان ) ومحاولته إنقاذ الضحايا إلى أن مات بعد أن حققت الطبيعة وعدها له وأهدته ظاهرة لم يكن يعلم عنها شيء ومن قام بتوثيق هذه المعلومات كان بليني الأصغر - محامي - ابن أخته والذي أيضاً ظهر في هذه الرواية.

ولذا معنى أول جملة في الريفيو : حدث في مدينة ميسينوم بداية لظاهرة جفاف مياه والتي كانت من إشارات لثوران بركان جبل الفيزوف وقام المهندس أتيليوس بمعرفة الكارثة مع الأميرال بليني الأكبر ولكن متأخرا مقاوما في مغامرته طمع وجشع أمبلياتوس للحصول على المياه.

عُرفت بومبي بجانب جبل الفيزوف (فيسوفيوس) بالحضارة المزدهرة وكان معظم السكان من الأثرياء، وظهر ذلك على معالم المدينة فكانت شوارعها مرصوفة بالحجارة وبها حمامات عامة وشبكات للمياه تصل إلى البيوت بالإضافة إلي ميناء بحري متطور ومسارح وأسواق، وآثارهم أظهرت تطور بالفنون من خلال النقوش ورسومات الجدران .

وبالرغم من التطور فقد لُقبت مدينة بومبي بالمدينة التي توقف عندها الزمن وبقرية الفاحشة وذلك بسبب انتشار أفعال إباحية وفحش منتشر في العلن.

تم اكتشاف المدينة صدفة بعد دفنها لأكثر من 17 قرن وبدأت عمليات التنقيب فيها ولكنها لم تكن كأي مدينة قديمة دُفنت نتيجة كارثة أو عوامل طبيعية فقد كانت مدينة كاملة بسكانها المتصلبين على نفس أشكالهم في آخر لحظات حياتهم فقد كشفت العمليات التنقيبية عن عدد من الجثث التي اتخذت نفس الهيئة والشكل بعد أن قام الغبار البركاني بردمهم متقولبا حول كل شخص وحولهم إلى جثث إسمنتية لذا توجد جميع الأوضاع البشرية كأنها تماثيل مصنوعة من الأحجار.

تحولت بومبي إلى مزار سياحي مع وجود بعض الأماكن للبالغين فقط لما يوجد فيها من رسومات منافية للأخلاق والآداب العامة.

أنتجت BBC فيلم وثائقي عن كارثة بومبي باسم Pompeii The Last Day غير عمل سينمائي باسم Pompeii.

وقام الفنان كارل بيرلوف بزيارة بومبي عام 1827 وتأثر لرؤية مدينة كاملة توقف عندها الزمن وبدأ بدراسة المدينة وتاريخها مستعينا بوثائق بليني ثم استغرق في رسم لوحة فنية تعبر عن ثوران الفيزوف لمدة ثلاث سنوات الذي استحق بسببها لقب كارل العظيم.



استمتعوا...
دمتم قراء… ❤️❤️❤️

[Sam Quixote · Rating 3 out of 5]

The waters have stopped flowing from the aquedect - who you gonna call? Dambusters! The water engineer heads out amid widespread corruption in Pompeii, thwarts a murder plot, finds out what happened to his predecessor, falls in love, and investigates the ominous rumbling from the nearby Vesuvius.

Sounds good no? Harris is good at building up the air of menace in the days preceding the eruption. Every action can be looked at as minor compared to the devastation coming and he really does a great job of creating an atmosphere of anticipation in the reader. He's also done a great job at recreating the feel of living in Roman times, as well as supplying a lot of information on Roman aqueducts giving you a sense of awe and genius for the Roman Empire.

Where he falls down though is in the characterisation. Attilius, the engineer, is the hero. He's a stoic, good looking gent who sends his pay home to his mother and sister in Rome. He doesn't take bribes, he's hardworking, and is disliked for his strict attention to detail (all for the good of Rome naturally). He's so perfect in fact that he's boring. But he's not alone. A equally dreary love interest is introduced who meets the engineer no more than 3 times briefly but over the course of those 3 encounters the reader is supposed to buy that they have fallen madly in love and would die for each other. The whole reason for the engineer to rush back to Pompeii after escaping it is because of this love interest and as such everything feels very contrived.

It's this lack of convincing that stops the reader in their tracks because there's no real reason, once the eruptions start, to care what the engineer's motivations are. He's a paper thin cardboard cut out and so is his love interest. So what?

The third act also falls down. Harris does a great job of setting the scene but once Vesuvius erupts he somehow manages to make it boring. For a thriller to fail in the third act is not a good sign and I could quite easily put the book down and do anything else.

It's not a bad novel by any means it just seems trite at times which spoils the overall effect. Harris has obviously done his research, it's just a shame the same effort didn't go into making an interesting enough scenario to take place during this immense natural disaster or characters worth caring about.

[Labijose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before he wrote “Imperium” and “Lustrum”, his two magnificent novels of the Cicero trilogy (Now available “Dictator”, the third one, which I’m eager to read), Robert Harris wrote “Pompeii”, a novel based on the historical volcano eruption during the roman era. Having visited the place a few years ago I wanted to not miss this one.
Not to the great standard as the Cicero ones, “Pompeii” is nevertheless a great read, full of realistic moments about the inferno that took place on 24 August 79 AD, through the eyes of the aqueduct builder. It feels quite real. The preface on each chapter, about volcano eruptions studies are very well interspersed, a good adition to the unfolding drama. I found the descriptions mind blowing. Yes, I enjoyed “Pompeii”, and now can’t wait to finish the Cicero final one, “Dictator”.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just okay for me. I liked the historical side of this. I have always found this story kind of 'sadly fascinating'. I just didn't find 'that' in this book. This wasn't particularly character driven. There was a problem with the water plaguing the area and it focused mainly on that without giving depth to the characters. There was a lot time and detail that went into this problem, but I needed that same attention to detail regarding the people. The historical part felt well done; the fiction part just didn't grab me.

[Eirini Proikaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Πάντα θαύμαζα τα ρωμαϊκά υδραγωγεία,αυτό το θαύμα της μηχανικής,και πάντα με γοήτευε η ιστορία της έκρηξης του Βεζούβιου και η θαμμένη πολιτεία της Πομπηίας.Οπότε αυτό ήταν το ιδανικό βιβλίο για μένα.
Θα πω το υπέρτατο κλισέ(δεν μπορώ να το αποφύγω) που λένε συνήθως όσοι γράφουν τις απόψεις τους για τα βιβλία που διάβασαν(όχι το "διαβάζεται απνευστί",το άλλο ): o Χάρις ,λοιπόν,ζωντανεύει την ιστορία.Σε κάνει να νιώθεις οτι είσαι εκεί,οτι περπατάς δίπλα στον Ατίλιο,ότι νιώθεις τη ζέστη,την ξηρασία,το έδαφος να δονειται κάτω απο τα πόδια σου.Βλέπεις το υδραγωγείο,τις κολώνες του,τα τούνελ του ,ακούς τη βουή του νερού.Περπατάς στους πολύβουους δρόμους της Πομπηίας και ανεβαίνεις στον Βεζούβιο.
Οι περιγραφές του είναι εξαιρετικές και δεν γίνονται ποτέ κουραστικές.Και όταν φτάνει η ώρα της έκρηξης ψάχνεις μέρος να κρυφτείς.
Η ιστορία είναι απλή:ο Ατίλιος έρχεται απο τη Ρώμη για να αντικαταστήσει τον προηγούμενο υπεύθυνο του Υδραγωγείου που έχει εξαφανιστεί μυστηριωδώς.Βρίσκει τους εργαζόμενους εκεί λίγο εχθρικούς απέναντι του αλλά πριν προλάβει καλά καλά να τακτοποιηθεί αρχίζουν τα προβλήματα.Η ξηρασία είναι έντονη και το ζωτικής σημασίας σύστημα ύδρευσης αρχίζει να στερεύει και χιλιάδες κόσμος μένει χωρίς νερό.Ο Ατίλιος πρέπει να βρει τη βλάβη και να την επιδιορθώσει άμεσα την ώρα που κάποιοι ραδιουργούν εναντίον του.Εντωμεταξύ ο Βεζούβιος στέλνει κι άλλα σημάδια για το τι πρόκειται να συμβεί (ψάρια ψοφάνε,το νερό μυρίζει θειάφι,η γη δονείται)αλλά κανείς,ούτε καν ο γνωστός συγγραφέας και φυσιοδίφης Πλίνιος,δεν κατάφερε να προβλέψει την καταστροφή εγκαιρως.Ή μήπως οχι;Πού εξαφανίστηκε ο πρώην υπεύθυνος του Υδραγωγείου;
Πολύ ωραίο βιβλίο,διαβάζεται εύκολα κι ευχάριστα και πραγματικα το απόλαυσα.Έχει και την αμερικανιά του ,απο ένα σημείο και μετά θυμίζει ταινία καταστροφής αλλά in a good way.Το αρνητικό του είναι οτι οι χαρακτήρες δεν έχουν ιδιαίτερο βάθος,περισσότερο υπάρχουν για να εξυπηρετούν την πλοκή και νομίζω οτι οι πραγματικοί πρωταγωνιστές του βιβλίου είναι ο Βεζούβιος και η Aqua Augusta το εντυπωσιακό σύστημα ύδρευσης του κόλπου της Νάπολης.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a day in Pompeii -- my mother claims I walked through every single house: not true, some are inaccessible -- I heard people on the platform of the Circumvesuviana local train talking about this book. I was being fussy about everything else I was reading, so I grabbed this on the Kindle store and kicked back with it (once we eventually got back to Rome, anyway; I read The Map of Time on the Eurostar).

It's a quick read, and reasonably accurate to the interpretations of what happened in Pompeii. Obviously, it invents things, and I don't know nearly enough detail to know exactly what, but what I do know, for example the appearance of the explosion and the details about Pliny, seemed accurate.

Obviously, as other people have observed, there can be no suspense about whether Vesuvius will erupt or not -- spoiler: it did, and Pompeii was destroyed; that's just historical fact, like the sinking of the Titanic. But there can be atmosphere, and there are several subplots -- a romance, civic corruption, the work of the engineers on the aqueducts... These are mostly well handled, though I couldn't believe in the love story -- mostly, I felt it was spoilt by the ending, which was a bit too... easy.

Still, it's enjoyable and a fast read, and not even too fluffy. The detail and research is there.

[Allen Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Oddly, I liked this book better before the volcano. After the eruption, everything else just feels pointless. I love Harris, but the Cicero books are much more my speed.

[Rosianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic, and entirely unputdownable. At first you're unsure what kind of route Harris is going to take on Vesuvius' eruption as it opens with talk of aqueducts and engineers, but in the space of a few hundred pages, he recreates the bay of Naples vividly and realistically, so you really do feel get an idea of the timescale and the emotions, all built in to this great read.