Pompeii: A Novel (Harris, Robert)

POMPEIIRobert Harris(Random House 2003) Here in "Pompeii", a novel, author Robert Harris has told the story of the eruption of Vesuvius (August 24-25 A.D.79) in verbal technicolor and has given us a cast of many characters from a clean cut young Roman engineer (Marcus Attilius) down to a couple of crafty villains (Corax and Ampliatus) who are almost stereotypically evil, one employed to kill Marcus, the other the employer. There is mystery, romance, adventure, fact and history aplenty in this great tale and it's a great read for everybody from the high school student to this writer who is past 90. But it's pretty much a guy's book. I read it when it was first published and have just reread it for the joy of reading a good story. The plot is simple. The Aqua Augusta, a 200 year old engineering miracle runs from the springs near Rome for a hundred miles south round the Bay of Naples behind Vesuvius and behind Pompeii to the Roman naval base of Misenum at a constant decline of one inch per hundred feet to deliver water by gravity flow to Pompeii, Herculaneum and Puteoli. But on August 22, two days before the eruption, Marcus Attilius, the young engineer just seconded by higher authority to take charge of the aqueduct, discovers two things. One, there is sulfur in the water. Two, somewhere up the line - past Pompeii but before Herculaneum the line is blocked and unless reopened in 24 hours half the population of Campania will have no water! The first 200 pages of this well researched novel set the stage for the eruption. You are in the naval base with Pliny the elder, the old general and avowed naturalist, now retired, run to fat but not to leisure. You are also there with Ampliatus, ex slave, cruel master, self-made millionaire with a beautiful daughter (Corelia), an ambitious politician and completely evil. You sail in the fast trireme with Pliny from Misenum to Pompeii where Atillius gathers his workmen and his supplies and goes out to find the stoppage; and you are with him while he finds and frees the obstruction just behind Vesuvius. In the meantime strange things are happening - waves on the sea, but no wind, flocks of birds where birds should not be flocking, vapor rising from the ground, wine shuddering in the wine glass - not much, but some, and more than intermittently. You are immersed in Roman culture, well and authoritatively set out by Mr. Harris; and you tend to recall your high school Latin (if you had it) The obstruction freed, Attilius, fascinated with the mountain, goes to the top of Vesuvius where justice done to Corax and you see the crater just about to erupt. Then on the way down he is flattened by the first explosion; and the last 75 pages of the book take you into the explosion, into Pompeii and into the ash. I had always thought that when Vesuvius erupted everything happened at once; people died instantly where they were and where they were embalmed for centuries until excavation stared in the 1800s. Not so. The eruption went on for 36 hours in various stages and included several things - a rain of pumice which covered the surface of the ocean to three feet and made it impossible for the rowers on the trireme to dip their oars, rocks raining - small ones, big ones - heat, vapor and the huge explosions accompanied by waves of heat (500 degrees centigrade) which brought instantaneous death and destruction. Some numbers: The original explosion released the energy of 100,000 Hiroshima atom bombs. 1.5 million tons of magma and lava exited the crater at a speed of Mach1 and reached a height of 35,000 meters before dissipating over hundreds of square miles of land and sea. All this is laid out in language which I have called verbal Technicolor. Great descriptive writing. When you are through with this great read - and, yes, Attilius and Coralia do escape the inferno - you know you have been treated to a really good book which took your mind off the troubles of our contemporary world. And that's eminently worth while!

I’ve always been fascinated by Pompeii. A number of years ago; I had the opportunity to visit the site. Harris’ story of the man who maintained the aqueduct system suppling water to Pompeii put me right back to the time of the eruption of Vesuvius.

The novel Pompeii, by Robert Harris, published in 2003 is an absolutely fascinating snapshot and account of life in Italy in the bustling coastal communities which had sprung up along the foothills of Mount Vesuvius by the year 79 A.D. You get a sense of real purpose and opportunity motivating the Roman citizens, subjects, and inhabitants residing or frequenting there. Senators, magistrates, scientists, admirals, engineers, naturalists, journalists, philosophers, prophets, builders, shepherds, farmers, craftsmen, and their entourage all make their homes there. They have transformed the landscape by their creations and the fruits of their labor with no small measure of assistance from a great number of soldiers, sailors, other conscripts, and indentured servants. You begin to feel the repercussions and the sudden impact of civilization at the stupendous height of imperialism on all of mankind. After all, building a thriving metropolis with all its amenities has indeed been a daunting task. To insure their future, the "sibyl" seeks for a favorable sign. Where has the raven on the rock perch gone? The bird is missing. A worse omen. Reading further, you get the distinct simultaneous impressions of longing and foreboding. But something is dreadfully wrong with this pastoral scene, something that you cannot easily put a finger on, something that you cannot simply repair with baling wire, duct tape, or a patch of Portland cement. The reader of the novel becomes intrigued by the developing mystery, the majesty, and the mounting suspense which has been left unvented. There are other indicators that provide solid scientific proof and evidence of unusual natural phenomena. What's happening? Many ask. Many wonder. For instance, the people have literally built their homes on shaky ground. The ground trembles. Fish are found floating in the hatchery ponds. A river runs dry. The air is fouled and becomes putrid. Hence, the emperor of Rome, "Titus Caesar," dispatches a knowledgeable expert in such matters, a hydraulics engineer, of all things--"Attilius" by name, to discover the real reason for all the troubling activity in the region. In my humble opinion, what the leading character encounters and the actions he takes, gives the novel substance. It lends credence to what makes life bearable and tolerable. In the final analysis, while Pompeii has forged its place in history, the purely fictional story of Attilius provides incredible insight into the human condition. He walks through the gates of the Pan-Hellenic Council and enters into their overheated abode. It is a blast furnace in there. His trial and tribulation is more a story of human evolution, and the purification of his soul, rather than any form of revolution. R. Royce sat and watched an extraordinarily delightful cooking show on television. "Whew who!" exclaimed the charming, beautiful blonde chef as she removed the main course, an iron skillet of well-seasoned, steaming, and bubbling baked tomato, zucchini, and squash basking in their natural juices and infinite glory from the oven. "Whoa ho ho!" she retorted, carefully tilting the accompanying round pan of freshly-baked apple pie dessert toward the viewing audience, revealing its heaping, golden brown, flaky crust. The smell of cinnamon and the other spices permeating the air must have been totally intoxicating. He had become mystified watching the scene unfold. He felt utterly astounded and dumbfounded. He was hungry for more! He'd never seen a finer, more eloquent meal prepared with any two of his favorite dishes. Perhaps this is a slight exaggeration, but no matter. He was given over to hyperbole. "The preparation of such a wonderful meal deserves a toast!" he said to no one in particular, and meandered into the kitchen without a care in the world. He extracted a chilled bottle of a most excellent sparkling wine from the refrigerator, poured half a glass-full, then sat down at the table to relish the moment. He helped himself to the covered-dish zucchini casserole left for him there on a trivet, the dish still very warm to the touch. Quite satisfied with the main course, he sliced into a freshly-baked golden-delicious apple pie, also warm from the oven. Thus, his midday meal proved most tasty. After eating his fill, he reached over and read the note on the table: "Hope you enjoyed lunch, especially prepared just for you. Gotta' run, Meghan." "Will wonders never cease?" he inquired out loud. It was uncanny how similar the meal had been to the one in the cooking program. Royce had discovered that it had snowed overnight. He retrieved a broom from the closet and swept the white powdery snow off of the exposed body surfaces of his automobile and started up the motor. He switched on the heater, raised the temperature level, and put the fan on high in order to expedite melting the frosted ice from the windows. The very next day, another cold one, he had to repeat the process, since it had snowed again. He called Meghan on the cell-phone to find out when she might return. "Thanks for the lunch," he said. "You didn't have to go to all the trouble. I could have gone out and grabbed a sandwich." "Oh, I didn't make you lunch," said Meghan. "Your neighbor dropped by to introduce herself and left the covered dishes on the table as I was leaving. Did you know that she has a cooking show on television?" "I do now," said Royce. "By the way, how are the road conditions out there?" "Very unfavorable," said Meghan. "You should stay home if you don't have to go anywhere." "How are you able to drive then?" asked Royce. "My car drives perfectly well on a solid sheet of ice in frozen sub-zero temperatures," she volunteered, without hesitation. "Well, be careful out there. Otherwise, I might have to send out a rescue party and search for you," he said. "If I'm not back by five p.m., you can tow me home yourself," she said. "I'll be at the office finishing up some paperwork and finalizing last minute details." "We're going to make a fortune from this deal," said Cornelius Korn, when Royce relayed the news to him. "So long as the plan doesn't go off half-baked." "According to Meghan, our firm has submitted a successful bid for a major industrial contract to provide the water-lines necessary for an upcoming mission to Mars," said Royce. The flexible double-walled tubes are made from a very cleverly designed, light-weight, space-age material, actually an insulated titanium-reinforced carbon-fiber composite. They're very durable, puncture resistant, and unaffected by severe temperature extremes. The space between the two tube walls can contain super-heated steam. This allows a steady stream of liquefied water to flow through the central-core interior tube from the heated water reservoir, which is really only a large tank of melted ice-water at the source, all the way to the underground base station a couple of miles away, without freezing somewhere along the way. As you may be aware, the base station installation has been located deep inside a cavern to protect astronauts from the harsh conditions of life on Mars. "As I have often heard it said before," said Korn. "Good luck with that."

Harris's novel is well written, vivid and exciting. I read it on a hiking trip in Italy after visiting Pompeii, and it really brought the ancient world and catastrophic eruption to life for me. I hadn't read this author before but I enjoyed his fast pace, vivid descriptions and distinct characters. I felt I learned a lot about Pompeii.

História e thriller misturados... Leitura fácil e divertido

Gutes Buch. Harris hat sich professionel mit der Wasserleitungstechnik der Römer auseinandergesetzt. Die Charakterisierung von Plinius ist realistisch, genau wie die Handlung selbst.

to read what the body-casts in pompeii felt during their final hours.

I have read this book several times. For me it brings life in Ancient Rome and particularly in Pompeii to life in a way that no other book has.I thoroughly recommend it.