
The Uncertain Hour
A Novel
کتاب های مرتبط
- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
- دیدگاه کاربران
نقد و بررسی

February 26, 2007
This engaging historical novel opens in A.D. 66, with Roman aristocrat Titus Petronius planning his suicide. Emperor Nero has falsely implicated him in an assassination plot, and the high-born Petronius prefers suicide to dishonor. Setting his affairs in order, he organizes an elaborate banquet for his close friends before he retires to his quarters to open his veins. Between sumptuous courses, elevated conversation and bawdy verse, Petronius muses on his past, and philosophical reflections on the meaning of life accompany a string of flashbacks, many of which detail the former governor's romance with a centurion's wife, Melissa Silia. Reviewing his career, Petronius realizes more attention to his mistress and less to the temptations of ambition would have avoided this disaster. Meanwhile, at the banquet, the grief of a young friend who cannot accept Petronius's refusal to flee to safety threatens to spoil the mood. Browner (Turn Away
) has done his homework, and his meticulous description of a Roman banquet and its attendant rituals, as well as his account of first-century Roman politics, letters and even clothing styles, is immediately immersive. Browner creates with considerable skill a snapshot of Roman life—and death.

March 1, 2007
This latest work from novelist and translator Browner ("Turnaway") is based loosely on the life of Titus Petronius Niger, author of "The Satirycon". Petronius has been falsely accused of betraying the emperor Nero and has decided to throw a grand dinner party and then commit suicide to avoid an impending death sentence. The entire novel takes place on the evening of this party, which results in a very slow pace and plenty of space for dull, unimportant details and flat and cliché d prose. While the characters might have historical importance, they do not hold the attention of the reader, who can't develop a real bond with Petronius or his friends or worry much about the unjust death looming ahead. Even in describing Petrnius's overtly caring acts, the novel still feels hollow. Not recommended.Shalini Miskelly, Highline Community Coll. Lib., Des Moines, WA
Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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