Quo Vadis

First, I want to be clear about which edition of "Quo Vadis" I am reviewing here: it is the edition from Hippocrene Books, ISBN 0781805503, translated by W.S. Kuniczak. I spell this out because I believe the translation is of great importance. Kuniczak already cut his teeth with a splendid version of Sienkiewicz's "trilogy."I really ordered this book out of curiosity. "Quo Vadis" was the generally-accepted American view of Nero's Rome and the rise of Christianity when I was a boy: the mammoth film spectacle was released in 1951. Yet it seems pretty certain that the "narrative" presented by "Quo Vadis" --- "Christianity good, Roman paganism bad" --- is pretty much dead in the water (or, even worse, a laughingstock) by the early years of the 21st century. I was also curious to look at one of the very first global best-sellers: "Quo Vadis" was translated into 40 languages, and sold millions of copies.What surprised me was that reading just the first five or ten pages really hooked me. The book starts out as a passionate love story: the patrician pagan Vinicius, by all accounts a phenomenally handsome man who lives at the top of the pagan status-heap, is stricken by a fatal love-at-first-sight for a girl he does not even know. A few more pages, and canny readers will understand that the girl, Lygia, is a secret Christian --- and then you start wondering how all this is going to work out.Besides that, the novel's most memorable character is Petronius, who is master of the revels for the megalomaniac Nero. He is at first scornful of Vinicius's "total love" for Lygia, but he is a very intelligent (if cynical) man who is finally forced to admit that, in this case (as in others) Aphrodite and Eros are the supreme gods guiding human affairs.And then Sienkiewicz begins raising the question --- sometimes gently, and sometimes forcefully --- a question which boils down to "which side are you on?" Despite all of our sentimentality about "the grandeur of Rome," is it not finally self-evident that Rome had to be destroyed, and replaced? If you doubt that, then reflect on the massive amount of slavery, tyranny, sadism, and cruelty which was the daily fare in Rome. Even if you have only seen "Gladiator," you have a good idea of what the Romans considered to be a good show --- men and beasts slaughtering one another to entertain the masses. Sienkiewicz also provides good insights into pagan philosophy (mostly via Petronius).On the other side, you meet the secret and persecuted community of Christians, along with memorable portraits of St. Peter and St. Paul.In sum: I found this to be a fascinating and very well researched historical novel. Biased? Of course it's biased. Everyone who picks this book up will probably be biased as well. But biased towards which side? :-)If you are a fan of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," this is probably a good volume to read at the same time.And it's a fascinating story.

An excellent tome! Glorious accounts of the tremendous faith of the early Christians who showed their utmost Love for their God when confronting torture and death. The most powerful and brutal empire was conquered by a handful men of true faith. Two thousand years later and His Church still stands.

A somewhat melodramatic, but deeply affecting novel set in Nero's Rome telling the story of the love of a young Roman nobleman for a young Christian daughter of a king brought hostage to Rome where she is taken as a foster child by a Roman family.This is the story of the growing love of a man for a woman and the simultaneous awakening of that man's love for God. It is both a love story and a supernatural tale of conversion and martyrdom, and as such, it is an exceptional novel to read aloud to children.Though this novel is now largely unknown, it was enormously popular a century ago, its author winning the Nobel prize in literature in 1905 largely on its merits.If you are a Christian and appreciate historical fiction, you will likely find this a terrific read.

This book was terrific! I read it along with one of my GR groups. I've been meaning to read this for years, and I had never seen the movies. I'm really glad now that this was the group pick. At first I was irritated by the use of archaic language, but after a while I didn't even notice. Despite being a translated work, (the original writer was Polish), I didn't come across any odd word usage, either.The author obviously spent a lot of time researching ancient Rome. The level of detail was astounding, but not in an obnoxious way. The events take place around 64 AD up to the rebellion under both Vindex and Galba. The infamous fire in Rome took place during this time frame as well as the martyrdom of the early Christians, St. Peter and St. Paul.While there are many historical figures in the cast such as Nero, Tigeliinus, Saints Peter and Paul, etc, at the center is the love story between Vinicius and Lygia. There are a whole host of living breathing side characters, too. Some were reprehensible, some virtuous, and some were both. (I can think of three characters offhand that I'd designate under "both".). Then there were the characters that I intensely disliked but by the end felt differently about. He skillfully drew his characters.There were many scenes that were definitely hard to read. I put the book down a number of times to mentally change gears. The brutality and depravity in that city were revolting. Several scenes brought me to tears. But, and this is a big but!, Nero doesn't have the seat of power in Rome on Vatican Hill anymore. The city is St. Peter's, purchased fair and square.

Loved reading this novel of early Christianity.

Wonderful story, beautifully executed, full of remarkable portraits of different extremes in human nature, and a breath-taking accomplishment of seeking (and achieving) accuracy in historical fiction.It is an exquisite portrayal of the radical clash between the pre-Christian world and Christendom.Truly, an exceptional product.

This film seeks to give us some idea of what faced Christians in early Church history.

ESTE LIBRO LO SOLICITE EN ESPAÑOL, ME LO ENVIARON EN INGLES. Que posibilidad habrá para que me lo enviaran en español.

Found this a truly excellent read. As another reviewer points out in almost forecasts the horrors of ethnic cleansing, mass destruction and conflict on a grand scale.The juxtaposition between decadent Romans and spiritual Christian is deliberatley depicted as a yawning gap. Petronius acts as a conduit between both sides and in many ways is the moral judge of both groups.The pace of the novel is gripping and engaging, the language enthralls and when Ursus defeats the beast in the arena one can almost hear its' neck crack.Would thoroughly recommend this book and having seen the film version with Robert Taylor and Peter Ustinov which in itself is reasonably entertaining, I would have to say that on this occasion the book definitely surpasses the film!

I bought it as a present for somebody, as I am Polish and I read it many times in my native language. The translation seems to be ok.For me it is one of the best book of great Polish literature. About forgivenes and love.'The Greeks brought their wisdom, the Romans their law, what do you bring? Love - responded Peter'.