'Quo Vadis?:A Narrative of the Time of Nero' is a love story of Marcus Vinicius, a passionate young Roman tribune, and of Lygia Callina, a beautiful and gentle maiden of royal Lygian descent and a former hostage of Rome, now a foster child of a noble Roman household. She is also a Christian.
At first Marcus, a typical aristocratic Roman libertine of his time, has no notion of love and merely desires Lygia. Through political machinations of the elegant Petronius he contrives to have her taken by force from her foster home and into the decadent and terrible splendor of the court of Ceasar, setting in motion a course of events that culminate in his own spiritual redemption.
Intricately researched, populated with vibrant historical figures, and gorgeous period detail, bloody spectacle and intimate beauty, this is an epic tapestry of the triumph of love, faith, and sacrifice.
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The setting of the narrative was prepared with utmost care. Henryk Sienkiewicz visited the Roman settings many times and was thoroughly educated in the historical background. As an attempt to create the spirit of antiquity, the novel met with unanimous acclaim, which earned the Nobel Prize in literature for the author in 1905. As a vision of ancient Rome and early Christianity it has not yet been surpassed, almost a century later."--BOOK JACKET.
At first Marcus, a typical aristocratic Roman libertine of his time, has no notion of love and merely desires Lygia. Through political machinations of the elegant Petronius he contrives to have her taken by force from her foster home and into the decadent and terrible splendor of the court of Ceasar, setting in motion a course of events that culminate in his own spiritual redemption.
Intricately researched, populated with vibrant historical figures, and gorgeous period detail, bloody spectacle and intimate beauty, this is an epic tapestry of the triumph of love, faith, and sacrifice.
**************
The setting of the narrative was prepared with utmost care. Henryk Sienkiewicz visited the Roman settings many times and was thoroughly educated in the historical background. As an attempt to create the spirit of antiquity, the novel met with unanimous acclaim, which earned the Nobel Prize in literature for the author in 1905. As a vision of ancient Rome and early Christianity it has not yet been surpassed, almost a century later."--BOOK JACKET.
This is a very good book about the early Christians in Nero's Rome. Sienkiewicz gives his characters believable dialog and his descriptions are easy to visualize. The subplots were easy to follow even though there were quite a few. The book got better as I was reading it, and I could hardly put it down after I got into the second half.
I am actually in the process of reading this book still. As a 16 year old reading this for school, so far I have found that the writing style is good, and the descriptions were/are very good. It is very interesting about the early Christians.
However, there is a "side story" about Viniticus' great love/passion for Lygia. There are a couple of scenes that are very sensual, and...awkward if you know what I mean. For example, in one spot, it mentions how Lygia would look nude. Things like this kept me from rating it 5 stars, to only 2 and a half.
However, there is a "side story" about Viniticus' great love/passion for Lygia. There are a couple of scenes that are very sensual, and...awkward if you know what I mean. For example, in one spot, it mentions how Lygia would look nude. Things like this kept me from rating it 5 stars, to only 2 and a half.
Quo Vadis is one of my all-time favorite novels. Sienkiewicz weaves a tale of danger and romance against the backdrop of Nero's court. The conversion to Christianity of his attractive but brutal hero, Vinicius is believable and handled masterfully. This is the novel that Bl. John Paul II re-read during his convalescence from the failed attempt on his life. Read it in good company!
Written in 1896
