- Paperback: 376 pages
- Publisher: Ibooks, Inc. (Aug 1 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1596872934
- ISBN-13: 978-1596872936
- Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #2,214,614 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Just take out all of the teensy details!!,
By "asuzena" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Spartacus (Paperback)
This story is fairly entertaining at parts but when Mr. Fast gets into all of the small details, that's when I get turned off. Also, since I am not too into politics, the parts about the political structure of Rome was kind of boring.Some parts I felt were not really needed were the quick scenes of sexual tension (ie. between Helena and Crassus, Julia and Caius, etc). They did not contribute to the story at all and it would have been best left out. The almost mythical tales of Spartacus were my favorites. I have always loved myths and legends--maybe that's why. Varinia described Spartacus in such a way that is just amazing and makes you think deep thought. All in all, I would absolutely advise you to read this because though it may get boring at time, the general story is worth it.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Historical Novel Overshadowed by Great Movie,
By suetonius "seutonius" (Phoenix) - See all my reviews
This review is from: SPARTACUS (Mass Market Paperback)
Howard Fast's 1951 novel was the inspiration for the fantastic Kirk Douglas movie. Compared to the movie, the book is a slow-paced introspective affair. At the outset of the novel, the slave revolt has recently been beaten. A party of rich Romans travels the Via Appia from Rome to Capua. Private travel has just been permitted after 4 years of Servile War. The story is told out-of-order with various peripheral characters recollecting the dead slave leader. Fast makes much of the poor treatment Romans gave their slaves. Fast goes completely over-the-top when he implies that the Romans engaged in cannibalism, chopping up dead slaves to make sausage for export. This contradicts many classical sources that repeatedly tell of slaves buying or being granted their freedom and becoming important and powerful members of Roman society. After two thousand years who really knows what happened? The characters of Spactacus and his wife Varinia are poorly drawn. Spartacus is saccharinely depicted as too good to be true. There is an absurd ending wherein Gracchus steals Varinia from Crassus, frees her and then kills himself. This would have been best left out. There is a long chapter dealing with the Jewish slave David that I had to skim through. The character of the Roman general Crassus is well formed. He is a ruthless man of action much like Olivier played him in the movie. He has no empathy at all for the six thousand defeated slaves he crucifies along the Via Appia. Interestingly, no mention is made of the fact that Crassus met his own grisly fate not long after the events in the novel. He was beheaded after losing a battle against the Parthians. Fast makes great efforts to fit the Spartacus story into his class struggle/Proletariat versus Capitalist worldview. There is an awkward scene where Crassus takes his young guests to a perfume factory he owns in Capua. Fast writes dialogue that makes the Roman patrician out to be proto-robber baron. In fact, work and especially involvement in business was considered disgraceful among the Roman upper classes. No self-respecting ex-consul would do such a thing. If the reader can ignore these awkward moments there is a good story interwoven among the dialectical materialism The reader must mentally edit out these tedious digressions much as the War and Peace reader is better off skipping Tolstoy's non-sequiturs about the nature of war. There is, hidden in over 350 pages, a good 250 page historical novel.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Literary Art, but not History,
By
This review is from: Spartacus (Paperback)
To read this book is to discover the author's subtle means of literary deception. There is more art here than fact. The history of Spartacus is told from various viewpoints where we get glimspes of him as a person. In reality he was not the saintly fugure that Fast would have us believe. It seems that Spartacus was in the legions as a solder before deserting and becoming a Gladiator. So much for for the novels pretense of him being a long suffering slave of generations! While the Slave Revolt was hurtful to Rome, it did not present the crushing class warfare that the novel would have us believe. In fact few native Latins joined the Slave Army, it being composed of slaves imported to Rome mostly. That Rome was harsh and cruel towards its subjected peoples there can be little doubt, but the idealogical war of rebellion that the novel would have us believe seems doubtful.Spartacus was not the invincible paragon of virtue that Mr. Fast presents. In fact he won battles as well as lost them in a series of campaigns that stretched the length of Italy for almost 4 years. At one point Spartacus might have had an opportunity to take Rome itself, but like Hannibal centuries before, he hesitated. As for his invincible generalship and army, while the slaves certainly administered numerous sharp reverses to Rome, they were not unbeatable. In the final battle Crassus seems to have destroyed over 60,000 of them. So much for the invincible Slave Army! This book is a work of literary art, the writing is compelling, if a bit dogmatic at times. The depiction of Rome as a corrupt, souless place, perhaps accurate, but administered in heavy doses. The Roman aristocracy was no doubt riddled by homosexulity which certainly marked its decadence for sure. Fast seems to condemn it, which might offend some in these Politically Correct times. The book is a worthwhile read if balanced with some good histories on the subject. Taken alone, along with the impressive movie, one would be provided with a very imperfect picture indeed!
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