The Grass Crown

A list of illustrations at the beginning essentially gives up the entire plot; reader beware, if your aim is to learn Roman history the fun way. I skipped past those and was subjected to an unlikely story full of traitors, massacres, madness and chaos that nobody would ever believe if the author wasn't so closely adhering to actual history. McCullough operates under some serious self-imposed constraints, the toughest being that she is forced to kill off her characters with the timing and manner of their actual deaths. That could be disastrous to the entertainment factor if not accounted for, and she accounts for it by making the right people sympathetic. Drusus unexpectedly became a new favourite of mine, and some earlier favourites show more less so.

The first book was good but I liked this sequel even better, probably because I had the correct expectations going in. The dialogue didn't feel as silly (even when it was silly), and the setting drew me in just as effectively despite her spending less time on it. There are sufficient events in this one volume to fill up two more of equal size, but McCullough has a schedule to keep and packs it all in, thick and fast - maybe a bit too fast in places, particularly during a certain complicated siege. In other places she can't help shoveling in more research than she strictly needs to. Several of Mithridates' scenes border on farce, especially his conversation with the high priest of Cos about the Egyptian royal family (the silliest dialogue bar none).

Good outweighs the bad, sewing everything together better than any textbook lesson can and placing the reader in all the best scenes at the right times, whether it's a battlefield or a dinner conversation. Possibly the closest thing to time travel back to this rough-and-tumble period that you're ever going to (or would ever want to) get. show less

This is the second book in the Masters of Rome series begun in The First Man in Rome. That first man was unmistakenly Gaius Marius, a flawed but still admirable figure who married Julia, an aunt of Julius Caesar, making him a brother-in-law to Lucius Cornelius Sulla. A secondary character in the first book, he's on the rise in this one, as Marius is in decline.

It makes for a sad book, seeing that decline of a character I grew fond of in the first book. Sulla, as in the first book, is shown as both incredibly able, more than a little creepy and definitely scary. The character in this book that most gained my sympathy was Marcus Livius Drusus. As a tribune, he tried to reform the law and his failure is a turning point both in the book and show more for the republic. McCullough really made me feel for him and the lost opportunity to avert war.

The young Julius Ceasar is also appealing here, just coming of age, he's around 14 years old at the end of the book, and it was fascinating to see the makings of the man in the boy of this book--the way his life in his mother's cosmopolitan insula in a rough neighborhood may have shaped him.

I've seen reviewers who complain the books in the series, including this one, are ponderous, even tedious. I wasn't particularly taken with McCullough's prose style and it's not for the style for which I recommend these books. But although the books are long, I feel it's the rare long book that earns its length--even demands it. What makes this book and the series special to me is how vividly it recreates the early Roman republic. In that regard I think it's a more impressive achievement than Robert Graves's Claudius novels. I got a real sense of the Roman mindset and way of life in these books, both of the ways it parallels--and helped form--modern political systems and the ways it's in no way modern in outlook. I have a friend who is a classics scholar, and when she once told me all she cared about gaining in her own writing was dignitas, because of these books, I knew exactly what she meant. show less

Az biztos, hogy a Lápvilág a jelentős posztmodern szintézisregények egyike. Graham Swift megkísérli egy könyvbe sűríteni az univerzumot: család- és világtörténelmet, geográfiát, zoológiát, filozófiát, mesét és misztikumot – egyszóval mindent a bombázógépektől kezdve a boszorkányokon át egészen az angolnák szexualitásáig. A terep, ahol mindez elfér, a szottyos-nedves kelet-angliai Fen vidéke, ami pedig összeköti őket, egy analógia: az ingovány. Mert amilyen piszkos, süppedős, büdös ez a Fen, hogy a csizmánk is beleragad, olyan minden más is Swift művében – kezdve a vendégmarasztaló sárra emlékeztető szövegtesttel.

Nekem leginkább Lenz Honismereti gyűjtemény c. könyve ugrott be show more róla, különösen mert annak elbeszélője is a környék szakavatott helytörténészeként kalauzolja végig az olvasót a mocskos kis múlton, a lelombozó jelenen és a vészterhes jövőn. Arról nem is beszélve, hogy ott is, mint itt is, az elbeszélő elméjében egyidejűleg jelen van az összes információ, amit meg kíván osztani olvasójával, így azok aztán egymással versenyezve, egymást félbeszakítva törekszenek ki a papírra, felbontva az események kronológiai egymásutániságát, és szép kis zűrzavart okozva. Ebből fakadóan ez egy olyan regény, aminek – félig-meddig – tudjuk a végét már az elején, csak a miértek várnak tisztázásra.

Jó kis munka ez, bár az analógiákat lehetett volna egy cseppet finomabban adagolni. Meg mondjuk a történetfilozófiai fejtegetéseket úgy beleilleszteni a szövegbe, hogy rendesen le legyenek kerekítve a sarkok… mert így lépten-nyomon beléjük ütöttem a térdem. Alighanem ez akadályozta meg, hogy teljesen komfortosan érezzem magam a történetben. Ugyanakkor el kell ismerni, ezek az elemek abszolút harmóniában voltak az elbeszélő személyiségével. Meg aztán – a posztmodern amúgy sem a komfortérzetről szól. Alkalmasint épp az ellenkezőjéről. show less

"The Grass Crown" picks up where "The First Man of Rome" leaves off... covering the years 97 BC to 86 BC. Life in the Roman Republic at that time features many of the same people as in the first book plus some new-comers... Cicero as a child orator, and Julius Caesar as a precocious child.

When "The First Man of Rome" ended, Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla had been brother-in-laws, comrades in war, and trusted friends. But that is not to continue in "The Grass Crown". In fact, they become each others greatest enemy, vying for power and control of the Senate. While Marius retains the adoration of the masses, Sulla has been awarded the “grass crown”- the highest military award for saving an entire legion or army. They both show more feel however, that there is room for only one man at the top and both want to be that man.

The story is of more wars, more battles, more death. Right now I think I know everything I ever want to know about commanding an army... the brutality, the blood, the filth and disease, the lust to kill, the lack of remorse, the barbaric custom of decapitation.

And on the home front, loyalty is purchased by arranged marriages, pouches of gold, and bartered promises. It is laughable that each aristocrat thinks his ideals are the correct ones, his ideas better than all others, and most of the Roman nobility will do anything - legal or illegal, moral or immoral - to gain power and fame. The politics are fascinating.

Minorities are seeking equal status. The poor despise the rich. The government is corrupt. The middle class is over taxed. Everyone has a lot of debt. And the government is broke.

Have things really changed in 2000 years?

Knowing this series is based on the true facts, it was painful to read of the chaos that ensued when the politicians failed to reach agreement in a democratic way... generals fighting over who will lead the troops, thugs forcing election results, and the senate getting disbanded. For the first time in history an army marched into Rome putting the city in a state of siege. As "The Grass Crown" comes to a close, the barbaric activities have a snowball effect... becoming more frequent, more brutal, and more devastating resulting in riots and a massacre of some of the most powerful senators.

For the most part,"The Grass Crown" was captivating. The only negatives which prevented a 5 star rating were the dry extensive details related to military exploits where the book slogged along on one or two occasions, and the excessive minutia of unnecessary background information. But Wow! Colleen McCullough did an amazing job in writing this series about one of the most extraordinary times in human history. show less

The Grass Crown, the second volume in McCullough's Masters of Rome series covers the years in the republic from 91-86 BCE. The main story is basically the decline of Gaius Marius and the rise of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. MCCullough brings Marius' mental and physical instability and Sulla's ruthlessness to real life. A teen-aged Julius Caesar is also slowly and carefully being developed. The most difficult thing for me is that I'm unfamiliar with the Roman offices (Quaestor, Praetor, First Man, Aedile, Consul, Censor, etc.) and the jockeying for position was a bit confusing. Because there were so many first names that were the same, McCullough used all three names when writing and it just seemed overwhelming. That being said, the show more soap-opera that was Rome, was interesting. 1149 pages I really need to evaluate my likeable level (3.5--better than average) with the effort to read such large tomes. Not sure that I will invest that much reading time in a series that isn't a 4 or 5 for me! show less

This one was also quite good. Because the characters of both Sulla and Marius are so complex, it is impossible to view one as good and the other as evil. Even when Marius goes nuts at the end and employs ex-slaves as his army and then uses them to kill all of his real and imagined enemies.

The people of Rome still mystify me though. The Senate says it acts for the people of Rome but yet they are despised and have no rights. They are horribly taxed and used to bring about the ends to the means that the Senators dream up. They are talked about with contempt even after Marius shows they are as useful as any of the other classes by using them to make up his army that is triumphant (in the last book). The head count is a phrase only said show more with a sneer.

It is interesting to see how the upper class will come to realize that the whole Italian population must be made citizens. This is how Rome grows to become the most powerful nation in history. They make others covet Roman citizenship and then grant it. They then strictly enforce behavior, laws and customs. This makes the newly enfranchised citizens want to fight for them and take over new places and subdue new peoples. It takes a long time for the ruling class of Senators to understand that this is how to subjugate the world, not by denial of citizenship.

I also love how each new censor or consul, twists the rules to suit his own purposes. They say the laws are inviolate and that Rome is sovereign but, they don’t act that way. They repeal laws made by the last consul; they impose sentences for crimes that were done before the nice new laws they just set up to make that action a crime. They don’t care that it wasn’t a crime when the act was committed. It’s funny that this kind of back biting government succeeded. Consuls weren’t in place long enough to make lasting change. One year isn’t enough time to make an impression. I understand their fear of making someone too powerful, but one year isn’t effective. That’s why Marius had to be consul 6 times to completely defeat the Germans.

Hearing about Mithridates was interesting. How he felt himself to be below the Romans at first and then his ego got in the way and he thought that they were too civilized to stay in power. Hopefully, Rome gets its head out of its ass about the Italians soon enough to leverage their new patriotic pride in Rome and they can defeat Mithridates. show less

A very exciting novel, very long but never heavy. It was hard to read it in English but it was worth it! The setting is beautifully reconstructed, it is wonderful to immerse ourselves in the world of ancient Rome through the words of McCullough! Her work behind this novel is immense! In addition, the plot is compelling and exciting, among political intrigues, wars, cruelty, affections and dislikes: a world so far from ours but when we look at the psychology of the characters we see that human nature has remained the same! Speaking of the characters: they are beautifully built! Even the minor ones appear extremely alive, you love them or hate them or both, but always so intensely!
Can't wait to continue!

Un romanzo davvero molto show more emozionante, lunghissimo ma mai pesante, faticoso da leggere in inglese ma ne è valsa la pena! L’ambientazione è ricostruita egregiamente, è stupendo immergersi nel mondo dell’antica Roma attraverso le parole di McCullough! Il suo lavoro dietro questi romanzi è immenso! In più la trama è avvincente ed emozionante, tra intrighi politici, guerre, crudeltà, affetti e antipatie: un mondo così lontano dal nostro ma quando guardiamo la psicologia dei personaggi vediamo che la natura umana è rimasta la stessa! A proposito dei personaggi: sono costruiti meravigliosamente! Anche quelli minori appaiono estremamente vivi, li si ama o li si odia o entrambe le cose, ma sempre intensamente!
Non vedo l’ora di proseguire!
http://www.naufragio.it/iltempodileggere/22453 show less