Heidy’s Reviews > Lustrum > Status Update

Reading (notably the second half) of the book, I was going to give Cicero a break and read a German thriller next because things were were just getting too bad and too sad in this trilogy, but very cleverly Robert Harris ended volume 2 in such a way that you simply have to carry on reading, especially when you have already got volume 3 ("Dictator") in the house

I've been thinking this for a while: Going by what I've read in this book, Cato is much more "my kind of person" (than Cicero)! At least, he sticks to his principles when Cicero manoeuvres around (herumlavieren), calling it "being political", but actually just being boundlessly opportunistic...

From p. 251 onwards, it goes downhill - Cicero goes downhill and it's not exactly enjoyable to watch his decline. "Geritten von Größenwahn", and that manifests itself in more than one way, at least as seen through the eyes of Tiro (or should I say, Robert Harris). - It's still very "spannend", possibly even more so than before, but Cicero has lost his senses and my sympathy. Shame that...

"'Unfortunately,' replied Cicero, 'politics is neither as clean as a wrestling match, nor played according to fixed rules.'"

This one was funny in the end: Four "litters" appeared in front of Cicero's house. "Litters"? I know all about "cat-litter" and "cat-litter trays", but "litters borne by four liveried slaves"? I had to work it out from the context but when I eventually double-checked it in the dictionary, I found it was "Sänfte"! Ok, alles klar!

I'm braving this book now. I say "braving" because - as much as I really do like Harris's writing - it contains quite a few words and terms which I don't understand, and I don't really want to turn to the dictionary every time something creeps up that I don't get. In some cases, my ignorance may be due to the fact that I'm not a native speaker, in other cases it may just be because I'm not a classicist.

I'm braving this book now. I say "braving" because - as much as I really do like Harris's writing - it contains quite a few words and terms which I don't understand, and I don't really want to turn to the dictionary every time something creeps up that I don't get. In some cases, my ignorance may be due to the fact that I'm not a native speaker, in other cases it may just be because I'm not a classicist.