libby_sarah's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Really enjoyed this. Bit slow to start but once it got going, I found it hard to put down. The characters and the setting were really well drawn and I could clearly picture everything.
jodar's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I have mixed feelings about this novel: the subject matter is relentlessly harrowing and yet the writing is excellent and the characters are complex and believable.
The MC’s young life as an orphaned slave becomes increasingly hemmed in as he is forced into prostitution in a tavern/brothel in a small port town in late-Roman Spain. The other slaves and prostitutes in the establishment become the MC’s substitute “family”. From them he learns the realities of the society and the requirements of his demeaning and unescapable role as a slave.
I did become worn down by the grimness of it all: the treatment of slaves as worthless machines or appliances rather than human beings; all the violent, graphic sex – with a resulting dark cynicism about sexuality – and on and on the brutality, the self-centredness, the greed and the hypocrisy across, it seemed, the whole of society.
On the other hand, in the end, even some of the powerful own up to their hypocrisy and make modest amends; and though there is clearly no happy ending, what is cherished by the MC – long after the events are recalled – is the true humanity shown by some of those in his past.
This is very much fiction, though, as the author points out in the final note. We have no direct reporting of what life was like for someone in the MC’s situation at any time in the Roman empire. Because of this, I wonder whether this fictional imagining would have been more powerfully compelling if it were written as immediate experiences rather than reminiscences of the MC as an old man. Doing so would have lost the wider, mature commentary of an older man, for example railing against the evils of the Roman state like Spartacus centuries before; but often the most impactful novels are ones in which the reader is left free to consider their own thoughts and implications of fictional lives.
The MC’s young life as an orphaned slave becomes increasingly hemmed in as he is forced into prostitution in a tavern/brothel in a small port town in late-Roman Spain. The other slaves and prostitutes in the establishment become the MC’s substitute “family”. From them he learns the realities of the society and the requirements of his demeaning and unescapable role as a slave.
I did become worn down by the grimness of it all: the treatment of slaves as worthless machines or appliances rather than human beings; all the violent, graphic sex – with a resulting dark cynicism about sexuality – and on and on the brutality, the self-centredness, the greed and the hypocrisy across, it seemed, the whole of society.
On the other hand, in the end, even some of the powerful own up to their hypocrisy and make modest amends; and though there is clearly no happy ending, what is cherished by the MC – long after the events are recalled – is the true humanity shown by some of those in his past.
This is very much fiction, though, as the author points out in the final note. We have no direct reporting of what life was like for someone in the MC’s situation at any time in the Roman empire. Because of this, I wonder whether this fictional imagining would have been more powerfully compelling if it were written as immediate experiences rather than reminiscences of the MC as an old man. Doing so would have lost the wider, mature commentary of an older man, for example railing against the evils of the Roman state like Spartacus centuries before; but often the most impactful novels are ones in which the reader is left free to consider their own thoughts and implications of fictional lives.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Pedophilia, and Infidelity
Moderate: Cursing and Mental illness
Minor: Vomit
kerriboland's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed this book, even if it was a hard book to enjoy. I wish the book flap had maybe said less about it being set during the end of Pagan Rome and the beginning of Christianity as this wasn’t a huge part of the story for me… although I would have loved that too, just not the expectation of it.
neilazaara's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It’s been a while I haven’t read a historical fiction set in Ancient Rome, that wasn’t a myth retelling. I didn’t really know what to expect with this book as I went into it completely blind. I loved the writing, which was rich and depicted so well the surroundings and times. It allowed me to picture quite clearly the setting and transported me to where Sparrow was. The markets, people, wolves, were so lifelike. I really got to feel for these women and Sparrow. Even managed to make me feel some pity for the despicable characters. The relationships between the women and between Sparrow and the Wolves were beautiful and heartbreaking.
It is a slower story focusing on a character study of an enslaved boy during the later parts of the Roman Empire. It was interesting to follow a boy when education and knowledge were not a common place and where coping mechanism had to be different in the context of legal slavery.
The only thing that didn’t really allowed me to give it a perfect score is that I thought the story would go way beyond boyhood especially considering the narration choice of Sparrow retrospectively telling the story. I wanted a full circle until the point of when the story was told, but unfortunately it didn’t quite connect the two threads and left me wanting for more.
Overall, a beautiful and poignant character study, I would recommend for those looking for historical fiction set in ancient times.
It is a slower story focusing on a character study of an enslaved boy during the later parts of the Roman Empire. It was interesting to follow a boy when education and knowledge were not a common place and where coping mechanism had to be different in the context of legal slavery.
The only thing that didn’t really allowed me to give it a perfect score is that I thought the story would go way beyond boyhood especially considering the narration choice of Sparrow retrospectively telling the story. I wanted a full circle until the point of when the story was told, but unfortunately it didn’t quite connect the two threads and left me wanting for more.
Overall, a beautiful and poignant character study, I would recommend for those looking for historical fiction set in ancient times.
eavans's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
knitted_bookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
azaera's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
readily_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Captivating read about difficult subject. Lots of graphic and difficult to read parts. It felt rich with detail and the plot made me want to know what happens. Disappointed by the ending at the very end as left things open to interpretation which can be good but felt a little letdown after the hard slog of reading more than 400 pages and not being clear on what happened.
dana_atkins's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Honestly it was really disturbing. I stuck it out because I love this time period in history, but my goodness there were some hard parts to get through and once where I had to stop altogether and skim the next couple paragraphs.
sarah_liest's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0