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The Coin of Carthage
"Brilliantly evoking the world of the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War through her description of the lives of two Greek traders, Bryher creates a common man's view of the greatest struggle in which ancient Rome engaged."
- GenresHistorical Fiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1963
82 people want to read
About the author
Bryher
23 books29 followersBryher was the pen name of the novelist, poet, memoirist, and magazine editor Annie Winifred Ellerman.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 11, 2016
It's books such as this that make me wish that Goodreads had a slightly more refined review system. Simply, this book doesn't rate 4 star for me, but neither does it merit 3, or 3.5. So maybe it's a 3.75 - or not quite.
At first glance, what's not to love? This is a short tale (250 pp.) of two Greek traders, Zonas and Dasius, at the time of the Second Punic War. It's beautifully written - Bryher had a really deft turn of phrase, etching vivid scenes with the minimum of words. Her prose is concise and for the most part, extremely engaging. You'll find few examples of the adverbs ('angrily, 'fiercely' etc.) that litter my novels and those of others. It doesn't suffer from 'info dumps', so we gradually learn little details about Hannibal, about Rome, about the campaign up and down Italy, and how the tide turned against Carthage.
But - and it's a big but - the novel suffers from two things that I really didn't like. One perhaps I should ignore, because it was clearly the way Bryher wrote. I thought that it was a modern habit to use commas where it's better to use semi colons or full stops, but this book proved me wrong. Bryher's sentences go on and on, interspersed with so many commas, that one, forgets what the meaning, is. Was. Or something.
I can set that aside, however, because the tales of the two men are good ones. What bugged me the most was the fact that the novel didn't seem to have a purpose. It meandered all over the place, often leaving us not knowing what was happening to another character for long periods (I do that, but not for as long as in this book). In fact, it wasn't clear that it was about two characters for quite some time. By the end of the book, I was wondering what had been Bryher's purpose in writing it? If it is to prove that life is transient, and can be capricious, cruel and random, and is quite likely, ultimately pointless, she did her job. I can take that in a film, strangely, but I don't like it in a book.
Nonetheless, I recommend this novel to those of you with an interest in the time. It's worth a read.
At first glance, what's not to love? This is a short tale (250 pp.) of two Greek traders, Zonas and Dasius, at the time of the Second Punic War. It's beautifully written - Bryher had a really deft turn of phrase, etching vivid scenes with the minimum of words. Her prose is concise and for the most part, extremely engaging. You'll find few examples of the adverbs ('angrily, 'fiercely' etc.) that litter my novels and those of others. It doesn't suffer from 'info dumps', so we gradually learn little details about Hannibal, about Rome, about the campaign up and down Italy, and how the tide turned against Carthage.
But - and it's a big but - the novel suffers from two things that I really didn't like. One perhaps I should ignore, because it was clearly the way Bryher wrote. I thought that it was a modern habit to use commas where it's better to use semi colons or full stops, but this book proved me wrong. Bryher's sentences go on and on, interspersed with so many commas, that one, forgets what the meaning, is. Was. Or something.
I can set that aside, however, because the tales of the two men are good ones. What bugged me the most was the fact that the novel didn't seem to have a purpose. It meandered all over the place, often leaving us not knowing what was happening to another character for long periods (I do that, but not for as long as in this book). In fact, it wasn't clear that it was about two characters for quite some time. By the end of the book, I was wondering what had been Bryher's purpose in writing it? If it is to prove that life is transient, and can be capricious, cruel and random, and is quite likely, ultimately pointless, she did her job. I can take that in a film, strangely, but I don't like it in a book.
Nonetheless, I recommend this novel to those of you with an interest in the time. It's worth a read.
October 23, 2019
Lovely. Slow to gather steam, while at the same time a fast read. I expected 'Coin of Carthage' to mean mercenaries but the coin was something else entirely.
Written with unobtrusive skill, and a strange use of commas.
It helps if you're soft on Hannibal.
Written with unobtrusive skill, and a strange use of commas.
It helps if you're soft on Hannibal.
May 14, 2020
I'd never come across this author before and was intrigued by the mysterious name - 'Bryher' is in fact one of the Isles of Scilly off the Cornish coast, and was adopted as a nom-de-plume by Annie Winifred Ellerman, an amazing woman by all accounts who as well as writing fifteen novels and several non-fiction books, lived an unconventional life in Paris, London and Switzerland, moved in literary circles that included Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Gertrude Stein, set up a 'receiving station' for refugees escaping Nazi persecution during WWII, and entered two 'marriages of convenience' with literary men whilst maintaining a lesbian relationship with poet Hilda Doolittle until her partner's death in 1961. 'Bryher' herself continued to live and write until 1983, and 'Coin Of Carthage', published in 1963, is set during the Second Punic War.
Two Greek traders, Zonas and Dasius, thrown reluctantly together on a journey, have a brief chance encounter with the great Carthaginian leader Hannibal that is to change both their lives. Whilst the conflict between Rome and Carthage rages in the background, we follow the fortunes of each as they separate, one to travel to Carthage, the other to settle on the outskirts of Rome. When Zonas saves the life of a young Roman officer, Karos, he is rewarded with the stewardship of his mother's farm; and while Karos seeks in vain high and low for his beloved companion, Orbius, captured by the Carthaginians and carried off to their city as a prisoner, it is Dasius who eventually find the changed and embittered young Roman years later ...
This is a book about relationships, some of them with homoerotic overtones (Karus and Orbius, Dasius and the Mago, the ship's captain who offers him shelter in Carthage), and about the everyday lives of ordinary people on the periphery of great historical events. The most detailed descriptions are not of armies, cities or warfare, but of humble inns serving wine, fish, figs; sunlit courtyards with cool, stone fountains; bustling markets with loaves, acorns, trinkets, jars of honey spread out on brightly dyed cloths; seaside quays with the tang of salt on the air; the soft, velvety muzzle of a donkey. The attention to detail is both loving and vivid, and although I was disappointed not to 'see' more of the great temples of Carthage, or indeed of Hannibal himself, I found this gentle, understated depiction of life in Rome and Carthage utterly absorbing.
Two Greek traders, Zonas and Dasius, thrown reluctantly together on a journey, have a brief chance encounter with the great Carthaginian leader Hannibal that is to change both their lives. Whilst the conflict between Rome and Carthage rages in the background, we follow the fortunes of each as they separate, one to travel to Carthage, the other to settle on the outskirts of Rome. When Zonas saves the life of a young Roman officer, Karos, he is rewarded with the stewardship of his mother's farm; and while Karos seeks in vain high and low for his beloved companion, Orbius, captured by the Carthaginians and carried off to their city as a prisoner, it is Dasius who eventually find the changed and embittered young Roman years later ...
This is a book about relationships, some of them with homoerotic overtones (Karus and Orbius, Dasius and the Mago, the ship's captain who offers him shelter in Carthage), and about the everyday lives of ordinary people on the periphery of great historical events. The most detailed descriptions are not of armies, cities or warfare, but of humble inns serving wine, fish, figs; sunlit courtyards with cool, stone fountains; bustling markets with loaves, acorns, trinkets, jars of honey spread out on brightly dyed cloths; seaside quays with the tang of salt on the air; the soft, velvety muzzle of a donkey. The attention to detail is both loving and vivid, and although I was disappointed not to 'see' more of the great temples of Carthage, or indeed of Hannibal himself, I found this gentle, understated depiction of life in Rome and Carthage utterly absorbing.
April 25, 2019
This book is an episodic tale of two traders who take different paths in the final years of the Second Punic War. Both are Italian Greeks and both start off trading eagerly with both sides, inasmuch as trade is possible in such wartorn times. But as the war passes they go in different directions. One finds himself drawn closer to a settled Roman life while the other seeks opportunity in Carthage itself.
It’s hard to describe this book without just listing all the events that happen. To even call it a novel is rather stretching the point. It is, rather, several short stories grouped around an interconnected cast of characters. There’s the story of one trader trying to recover from getting robbed by Numidian cavalry. Then, without any real transition, we switch to later in his return journey when he saves a young Roman from death after being ambushed. Then we jump forwards a few years to events on the young soldier’s farm. Then we turn to the second trader (who basically vanished several chapters before and gave no indication of being a lead character until this point) as he tries his luck in Carthage. Then two years pass by and we’re nearing the end of the war. Then the war is over and we switch to the other trader, then back to the Carthage-favoring one, and then finally it’s years and years later and Hannibal is dead.
As you can tell, there’s not very much holding this novel together. The two main leads rarely even interact and the short stories don’t exactly flow together. I’m also a bit uncertain over what the point of the novel is and how this structure helps to tell it. As near as I can tell, the episodic nature of the story and the way it leaps forwards in time skipping over major events (both historical and personal) is meant to emphasize the transitory and ultimately meaningless nature of existence The issue with that is that there’s so much else going on that doesn’t really work with this theme. How is working on a farm meant to convey the meaninglessness of life? What about rescuing a soldier from capture or death? The Carthage-fancier’s story naturally contains some elements that fit the broader theme since he witnesses both the years before its fall and the way the city is eating itself after, but the other trader’s only real complaint seems to be that he’s gotten old. So what is the ultimate lesson that we’re left with?
The good news is that on a smaller scale the book does a good job of exploring life in the Italian countryside and North Africa in the closing years of the third century BC. It has a low-level approach to the world and we rarely even see major players such as Hannibal, and then mainly from a distance. In fact, the book goes out of its way to make this all feel as generic as possible. Hannibal is rarely referred to by name and instead goes by the term “the Commander”. The soldier’s village is named Vicus (village in Latin) and the slavegirl there is called Verna (Latin for a houseborn slave). The idea seems to be to make this setting fit with any point in the Roman era. I was convinced the Second Punic War stuff was a complete distraction until the second merchant went to Carthage itself. The depiction of Carthage was just as compelling as that of the Italian countryside. I just don’t get how the two belong in the same novel.
The charming depiction of what it was like to lead a smallscale life in the mid-Republic is the reason to pick up this book. Because of this it was never boring, though by the end I was somewhat puzzled over why we were taken on this particular journey. The purpose of the book seems to be a little muddled, but in many ways I feel this is Bryher’s best-written story. It takes its time establishing mood and setting and doesn’t leave you looking for more in an unsatisfied way. If you go into it looking for an immersion into the country life of that era and the attitudes of merchants you likely won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect too much more.
It’s hard to describe this book without just listing all the events that happen. To even call it a novel is rather stretching the point. It is, rather, several short stories grouped around an interconnected cast of characters. There’s the story of one trader trying to recover from getting robbed by Numidian cavalry. Then, without any real transition, we switch to later in his return journey when he saves a young Roman from death after being ambushed. Then we jump forwards a few years to events on the young soldier’s farm. Then we turn to the second trader (who basically vanished several chapters before and gave no indication of being a lead character until this point) as he tries his luck in Carthage. Then two years pass by and we’re nearing the end of the war. Then the war is over and we switch to the other trader, then back to the Carthage-favoring one, and then finally it’s years and years later and Hannibal is dead.
As you can tell, there’s not very much holding this novel together. The two main leads rarely even interact and the short stories don’t exactly flow together. I’m also a bit uncertain over what the point of the novel is and how this structure helps to tell it. As near as I can tell, the episodic nature of the story and the way it leaps forwards in time skipping over major events (both historical and personal) is meant to emphasize the transitory and ultimately meaningless nature of existence The issue with that is that there’s so much else going on that doesn’t really work with this theme. How is working on a farm meant to convey the meaninglessness of life? What about rescuing a soldier from capture or death? The Carthage-fancier’s story naturally contains some elements that fit the broader theme since he witnesses both the years before its fall and the way the city is eating itself after, but the other trader’s only real complaint seems to be that he’s gotten old. So what is the ultimate lesson that we’re left with?
The good news is that on a smaller scale the book does a good job of exploring life in the Italian countryside and North Africa in the closing years of the third century BC. It has a low-level approach to the world and we rarely even see major players such as Hannibal, and then mainly from a distance. In fact, the book goes out of its way to make this all feel as generic as possible. Hannibal is rarely referred to by name and instead goes by the term “the Commander”. The soldier’s village is named Vicus (village in Latin) and the slavegirl there is called Verna (Latin for a houseborn slave). The idea seems to be to make this setting fit with any point in the Roman era. I was convinced the Second Punic War stuff was a complete distraction until the second merchant went to Carthage itself. The depiction of Carthage was just as compelling as that of the Italian countryside. I just don’t get how the two belong in the same novel.
The charming depiction of what it was like to lead a smallscale life in the mid-Republic is the reason to pick up this book. Because of this it was never boring, though by the end I was somewhat puzzled over why we were taken on this particular journey. The purpose of the book seems to be a little muddled, but in many ways I feel this is Bryher’s best-written story. It takes its time establishing mood and setting and doesn’t leave you looking for more in an unsatisfied way. If you go into it looking for an immersion into the country life of that era and the attitudes of merchants you likely won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect too much more.
April 23, 2018
There were lots of germs of good books here, with the emphasis on "normal" Romans just trying to scratch out a living amid the war. But I never connected with any of them and the narrative skipped around the characters too much to allow me to focus on a person or a story.
April 24, 2024
I thought that this 1963 historical novel about the 2nd Punic War (between Rome and Carthage, in the 3rd Century BCE) was surprisingly good. I am not familiar with the 20th century British author Bryher, but I took a chance on her when I bought this "right-sized" novel as a Used Book sale.
March 12, 2014
I'm reading the whole oeuvre of Bryher as I obtain each work. This particular novel was a disappointment, compared to what I've already read of hers. Even so, I couldn't put this readable novel down.
Set in the 2nd Punic War between Rome and Carthage, the story involved two Greek traders, Zonas and Dasius; two Romans, Karas and Orbius; the household of Karas; and assorted Carthaginians. Most important is the sea captain Mago. All their lives become intertwined. Hannibal is only a tangential character: one appearance and several mentions.
The story was simple: the passage of life of all these characters over a period of years, emphasizing how the war affects their lives. The war is always in the background. The novel also recounts their adventures. Some characters travel from Italy to the 'golden sands' of Africa and back. This novel had Bryher's usual gorgeous descriptive prose and good dialogue. However, the lack of continuity really annoyed me; this made me give the novel a lower rating than I gave her others I read. We would be dropped from one episode to another in media res, then the author might backtrack and fill us in. Or, she would just leave big gaps in the narrative and I'd have to try to figure out how one thing led to another. Characters would appear, suddenly disappear, then reappear later. I felt this a major weakness.
Set in the 2nd Punic War between Rome and Carthage, the story involved two Greek traders, Zonas and Dasius; two Romans, Karas and Orbius; the household of Karas; and assorted Carthaginians. Most important is the sea captain Mago. All their lives become intertwined. Hannibal is only a tangential character: one appearance and several mentions.
The story was simple: the passage of life of all these characters over a period of years, emphasizing how the war affects their lives. The war is always in the background. The novel also recounts their adventures. Some characters travel from Italy to the 'golden sands' of Africa and back. This novel had Bryher's usual gorgeous descriptive prose and good dialogue. However, the lack of continuity really annoyed me; this made me give the novel a lower rating than I gave her others I read. We would be dropped from one episode to another in media res, then the author might backtrack and fill us in. Or, she would just leave big gaps in the narrative and I'd have to try to figure out how one thing led to another. Characters would appear, suddenly disappear, then reappear later. I felt this a major weakness.
February 26, 2017
I had high hopes for this book, being a history buff and having a particular interest in Hannibal. There was no history. The traders (the main characters) never did anything. Years would pass with them staying in one place, thinking about traveling, yet never doing so. The Punic wars passed without my ever reading about them. One of the traders met Hannibal but the meeting wasn't clear and I had to go back and re-read to be sure it had really happened. Apparently, the impression Hannibal made on Zonas was lost on me.
I had to re-read several times to make sure a change in POV character was intentional and not a typo. The plot never immersed me in the book and I never felt connected to the characters.
Still, it wasn't so awful I didn't finish. I'll end up trading it.
I had to re-read several times to make sure a change in POV character was intentional and not a typo. The plot never immersed me in the book and I never felt connected to the characters.
Still, it wasn't so awful I didn't finish. I'll end up trading it.
September 29, 2014
I didn't get past the first few chapters before losing interest in the characters and the story. It is entirely possible that the pace picks up and characters are introduced that would have made the book interesting enough to continue but I didn't have the patience.
June 7, 2012
The Second Punic War from the perspective of several ordinary Italians in the countryside. Hannibal himself is only on the periphery.
November 11, 2023
DNF. Lasted 60ish pages. The narrative meanders and doesn't make sense. It is often unclear who is speaking dialogue. Nigh unreadable imo.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews