Summer Reading #1 : Quo Vadis

I thought since I lack inspiration for posting that I would try to keep a running list (complete with synopsis and critiques) of books I read this summer. I'm doing thise for a few reasons: 1) Accountability--to make sure I really do read what I started out this summer with a desire to read. 2) To Summarize what I read and write down my a few of my thoughts about it--causing me to reflect on and evaluate on the work(keep in mind that I'm not much of a writer and my musings will not be long) 3) Possibly spark some discussion on various works.

First installment: Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz
Quo Vadis is a historical novel by Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz first published in 1896. The setting is 1st century Rome and contrasts the decadent, pagan lifestyle of Nero and the other influential figures in his court(complete with references to the various philosophies prevalent at the time) with the underground Christian community in Rome--mostly made up of the poorer classes with a few exceptions. The story centers on a wealthy Roman tribune, Marcus Vinicus, and his obsession and eventual love for a Christian woman, Lygia, who eventually plays a part in his conversion to Christ--all around the time of the burning of Rome and the following Christian persecution(the scenes of Christians in the coloseum are pretty graphic) .

I have mixed feelings about this book. It was an interesting interpretive look at the personality of Nero, and of Rome as a whole. I especially appreciated the development of the various characters and his ability to portray various characters and their competing philosophies in Nero's court. However, there were a few faults that I found with the book. First, were the several historical inacuracies. For example, the author puts Paul in Rome ministering to the Christians there multiple times even though the New Testament makes it plain that the only time that Paul was in Rome was during his trialand execution. Also, I felt that the portrayal of Christianity was extremely incomplete. The scant explanations of the theology of Christians was grossly incomplete. Lastly, the heavy bent of Catholicism was a little problematic for me. The author seems to be laying his case for Peter as the first pope throughout the story and especially near the end where Peter accepts the heavenly mandate to build the 'city of God' in Rome and his assignment to be the 'viceregent of Christ' on earth. It is more of the author's commentary and tribute to his own faith than a historical novel that instructs about the time period. But then, that would explain Dirk's complaint with the whole genre of 'historical fiction': It should not be used as a replacement for the actual study of history.

So thats my take on Quo Vadis in a nutshell. (I've decided the rest won't be this long)


--Kathy


Side note: "Quo Vadis" is a Latin phrase meaing "Where are you going?" In the novel Peter starts to flee when he hears that he was wanted by the Roman pretorians and on the way out of the city, he receives a vision of Christ asking him where he was going (quo vadis) and why he was leaving His sheep. Peter returns to the city to complete his work as establishing Rome as the future 'holy city'.